MORGANTOWN — Kids and parents packed Cheat Lake Elementary School Wednesday evening for the annual science fair competition.
Fair co-chair Glen Jackson, editor-in-chief of Forensic Chemistry and a professor in WVU’s Department of Forensic and Investigative Science, said more than 100 students signed up to participate.
The cafeteria was filled with project displays while the adjacent gym held about 20 activity stations. The kids spent part of the time explaining their projects to the 40-50 WVU student judges, then moved into the activity room to have fun there.
Fourth-grader Braxton Shrewsberry performed an experiment called “Do It Yourself DNA,” using a variety of fruit extractions.
“My parents helped me a little bit,” he said. His favorite part was mashing the fruits, pulling them out with a skewer and making the extraction.
His conclusion was that the strawberries gave the best DNA, probably because they mashed the best.
Braxton’s parents, Dave and Amber Shrewsberry, were there with him. “He’s really excited about DNA,” said Amber, a fourth-grade teacher at Cheat Lake. They discovered the project on the internet.
Jackson and co-chair Jennifer Robertson-Honecker said the fair was sponsored and free for the students to participate. More than $3,000 worth of prizes were awarded, along with a grand “crowd favorite” prize and small keepsakes for all the participants.
Tweet David Beard @dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
