Sisters to explore the wonders of science

The third annual Sisters Science Fair will engage the community in the wonders of science from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 22, at Sisters High School.

Marvel at the possibilities of lemon batteries and exploding balloons, polymers and pulleys, ping pong ball cannons and worm composting. Enter in the paper airplane contest and pit your skills against other designers to fly your craft across the gym floor.

The Sisters Science Fair is free and open to everyone to browse the exhibits, learn more about science and experience the science programs in Sisters schools.

The acclaimed Sisters Elementary Green Team will be there to talk about their project to bring an environmental component to their school that includes each and every student.

"We get together and try to make our school a better place by taking fruits and veggies left over from our lunches and feed them to our worm bins," said Ellie Mayes, a third-grader in Ms. Parson's class at Sisters Elementary School.

The Green Team is also recycling.

"We send our plastic bags, wrappers, Capri Sun containers to Terra Cycle in New Jersey. They pay us for it and then they use it to make other things people can use," explained Ashlynn Moffat, another third-grader on the Green Team at the elementary school in Ms. Burke's class.

Students will be at the Science Fair to explain their projects and answer questions.

"We have trifolds explaining our Green Team project, and we will even have a worm bin so you can see how great worms are for our environment," said Lizzie McCrystal, a third-grader in Ms. Holden's class. Lizzie was once afraid of worms, but now she expounds on the virtue of the red wrigglers.

All three Sisters public schools, along with industry, organizations and universities, will present an array of experiments from many disciplines of science including electricity, chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy and engineering.

The Design, Construct, Compete (DCC) contest has been a popular event at previous Sisters Science Fairs, filling the high school gym with spectators cheering on the participants. The DCC teams compete against each other to launch tennis balls through a target. The crescendo builds as the target is moved further away and teams are eliminated, leaving the others to compete to a resounding climax.

The SciArt contestant's photos will be on display at the Science Fair. Students from the Sisters schools submitted photos connecting science and art competing to win cash prizes.

Visitors can view the night sky from the planetarium, then talk with students and amateur astronomers from the Sisters Astronomy Club about what they've seen.