Spanish Lakes Elementary School (SLE) students participated in the South Regional Science and Engineering Fair at Miami-Dade College North. In doing so, they learned the importance of designing, testing, analyzing and displaying projects while using scientific methods and investigations to solve problems.
As they stood by their projects and presented them, they felt their teacher’s support. Administrators who helped walk them through the inquirybased learning process was one of the most valuable tools in their success. In their classes they asked questions, conducted investigations and designed solutions as they saw how their scientific investigations come to life.
Students placing in the district level this year included: Fourth grader Daniel Caraballo received a gold for “Let's Talk Driving: Will playing a driving simulated game and talking on the phone affect the completion rate of a lap?” People being studied were observed while playing the video game Project Car. Those having a conversation were distracted, and ultimately took longer to complete their lap.
Fifth graders Marissa and Vincent Vogel received a gold for their project “Droppings and Marigolds...Oh My!” They tested to see if adding rabbit droppings helped speed up the sprouting rate, and as a result, it did assist the growth of the flowers. Fifth grader Giovanni Cruz’s project “Blocking Wireless Connection” earned him the silver award. Finally, 4th grader Samantha Perez received a bronze award for her project titled “What Type of Water Filters Water Best?”
The Science, Engineering, Communication, Mathematics and Enrichment (SECME) Club completed the mousetrap car, the water bottle rocket competition, the patch and essay and the school banner competitions, which earned them participation ribbons in each of these areas.