Mrs. Yerramalla in her first year as a biology teacher at New Tech High @ Coppell has put on a show with a biology science fair. Rookies worked in small groups of at most three to go through the scientific method and create a trifold to share their results. The fair hosted a variety of topics falling under the physical, life, and earth science categories. The scientific questions ranged from understanding the psychological effects of different dietary stimuli on ants to finding the best way to ferment dosa, a popular Indian food similar to a pancake.
After establishing their scientific question, rookies conducted background research, which was then followed by creating a hypothesis which they tested with ingenious experiments. For example, an experiment spearheaded by Gannon Busby, Avighna Chidurala, Suraj Swaminathan, and Kelan Hira operates by touching two phono plugs to a fruit or vegetable to sense how much electricity the fruit is producing. This insightful experiment certainly entertained the judges.
Speaking of insightful, the multitude of insightful projects at the fair had Mrs. Yerramalla emphasize, “Yesterday’s science Fair was a huge success.” She further adds, “When I suggested and shared the information about the science fair project with the 9th-grade class, they took it as a challenge, worked hard for 4 weeks, and in no time they proved that they are future scientists and great achievers. The display of the boards, their presentations, their professional dress up, and their experiments were of high level. I felt like this was not a 9th-grade Science Fair but a college-level science fair. We enjoyed watching them and talking to them about the project yesterday. It was real teamwork.”
As for the results of the science fair, Navanita Sankar and Radhae Muthuswamy won 1st place, with their project “What is the best way to ferment dosa?” Mehul Rastogi, Arjun Madhu, and Yash Joshi won 2nd place with their project “Resist-ANT” where they researched the psychological effects on ants after changing dietary variables and recorded the response to stimuli. 3rd place was given to multiple groups. Suraj Swaminathan, Kelan Hira, Gannon Busby, and Avighna Chidurala won for their experiment earlier in this article. Sahana Iyer and Amvi Hajeri also won 3rd place for their individual projects and experiments.
With this year’s science fair a success, many wonder what innovative ideas and exciting experiments next year’s class will bring.
