It’s that time again. District Science Fair!
Conner and Ari presented their project on Cause and Effect. (Conner and Ari are twins from different mothers. They were born on the same day at the same hospital, about half an hour apart to mothers who had never met.) This is the boys’ first year in middle school (6th graders); they’re competing against 6th to 8th graders.
There were three teams presenting from their school. Their entry is similar to what they did last year, but more sophisticated now. The put together a video game (doing all the programming, video, and music themselves) that encourages and rewards deliberative movement.
The test subject was Ari’s younger brother Paul, who has multiple challenges, including cerebral palsy and cortical visual impairment. Deliberative movement is difficult for Paul. This project was designed to determine if he could associate cause and effect, and encourage him to build skills. (There was adult professional oversight all along the way; multiple monitoring and approvals.)
The results of their trials, spaced over several weeks, documented engagement and improvement. At the fair, they were required to make three individual presentations to three different judges. Judges are free to request presentations from other teams if word gets around that there is something interesting. In all, the kids made fourteen presentations over the course of three hours. The judges seemed to like it.
There are no awards announced at the end of the day. There will be an award presentation tomorrow night, by invitation only. Conner and Ari were the only team from their school that was invited to attend.
Their first year at the science fair, they created, tested, and demonstrated a solar death ray consisting of multiple focused mirrors. Last year and this year it was the cause and effect demonstration. Next year their goal is to launch a rocket with a payload the weight of Ari. They have already agreed that the payload will *not* actually be Ari.
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