The Compass

Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: Clubs

Ninth grader Kyle Helgeland at Stephens County High School, had a fun time displaying his hovercraft science project to curious onlookers.

Tamales and Quinceañeras are most likely the last thing you'd expect to see for a social science student project. Yet, these were just a few of many peculiar projects being displayed at the annual Northeast Georgia Regional Social Science and Engineering Fair competition for both middle and high schools. A total of 114 students and 20 projects scattered among 11 North East Georgia counties competed in the regional fair on Feb. 2 which was held inside the Gainesville State College gymnasium.

Aaron Willis, an eighth grader at Westminster Christian School in Gainesville, won first place in the science category among middle school students for his project which focused on the effectiveness of various fire accelerants. Ashley Dickinson, a ninth grader from Stephens County, also won first place in the science category among the High School division for her project that focused on the effectiveness of antibacterial soap products on growth of bacteria. Both students received $1000 GSC Dean Scholarship awards.

Co-director of the fair and Professor of History on the GSC Oconee campus, Ben Wynne commented that his most memorable student project he saw this year was the catchy title Tamales and Me, a social psychology project by Lisbeth Sierra from W.R. Colie Middle school which explained the origins and history of tamales through the Aztec timeline and before Europeans had begun exploring the Western Hemisphere.

Kyle Helgeland, ninth grader from Stephens County High, also had an eye catching science project at the fair. Helgeland built a small custom one-seater hovercraft. Although he left without a science award victory, Helgeland's project aroused curious onlookers with looks of bewilderment and disbelief.

Wynne also commented on the decrease of student entrants at the fair compared to the past few years. Wynne said, "…overall participation has decreased somewhat. This can be attributed to an increased focus in some school districts on federally mandated standardized testing that is linked to funding, which unfortunately can come at the expense of extracurricular activities."

Early Childhood Development Professor, Carly Wynne, coordinated the social science projects at the fair while Professor of Psychology Diane Cook handled the science projects.

When asked if there were any picky parents who complained about his final judging decisions, Wynne said, "On the contrary, we had a great deal of positive feedback from parents and school officials."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools