REAL Science

Specifically, R’s science project. Hydroponics In Space. I’d blogged about R’s project before. This week is where all the hard work came together.

The big science project, I’m told, had two possible due dates:  Feb 5 if you want to be considered for the State Science Fair, and Feb 19th if you don’t want to be a State candidate. R wanted to be a State Science Fair candidate, so we scheduled up to hit the earlier deadline.

And he did. As I left for work this morning, he was loading his Science Fair exhibit and his 10 page Science Report into the car.

My earlier blog post covered some of the details about the results and the analysis, so I won’t duplicate that here. But what was cool was how R endeavored to work ahead of his deadline. Here are some examples:

• R was stuck on how to make an exhibit for his project. At first, he was just going to clue each page of his printed report to the poster board and be done.  I helped him understand that the two mediums, report and exhibit, were very different. He allowed me prototype his exhibit with paper and pencil to make a compelling story. This planning process helped him a LOT, it turns out. He felt much more at ease when he had a template to build to…
• Further setting the stage for success, R took his paper/ pencil prototype to school on the Monday before, to consult with his teacher. By getting early feedback on the plan, R could easily adjust his work to meet the teacher’s expectations, and probably improve his grade (plus, now the teacher knows that R’s organized and on-task a week ahead of the deadline. Good politics, that!)
• On Tuesday, R took the first draft of his report to school to consult with the teacher on that. Again, the teacher now knows that R has “this” much work done by Tuesday, well ahead of the deadline. R brought back the remarks and we made slight changes.
• C helped R get started on his board. I must admit, a huge science fair exhibit board, blank, is an intimidating amount of emptiness to fill. Even to me that first look at the empty board feels as big as handpainting a highway billboard with a kitchen sponge.
  C helped him get started. They had to stay up late on Wednesday night, but they got a lot done. By the time I got home from my trip on Thursday, things were nearly complete. I helped with three finishing touches, then I assisted in getting the report printed out on paper, and we were done. R got to bed at a reasonable hour and started his Friday well rested.

As luck would have it, I came across a technical publication describing a very similar experiment currently underway on the International Space Station. The lab module attached to the outside of the ISS is investigating the effectiveness of different plants and care strategies for space-bound horticulture. We printed out the article and attached it to the exhibit. Why? Because R’s work is directly related. We get to make the point(mostly to R, frankly) that he just did real science.

I’ll update with pics later. I’m proud of him; this turned out well.

UPDATE:  R informed me last night that he was not selected for the State Science Fair. He was very apologetic that he didn’t make the cut. I assured him that, even though he didn’t get to go forward, he delivered real science, well communicated, and in his own hand. I’m proud of him anyway. There will be other opportunities.