Growing up in school, one of the greatest accomplishments one could have during the course of the year was to make it into the Science Fair. The fame. The prestige. You get to miss class all day to do your presentation over and over again as the different grade levels would all take their turn to come see your stuff.
In Grade 6. Jr. High started early where I was at the time. I did a project about magnets, which was theoretically interesting to me. It wasn’t good enough to make the show, probably because my demonstrations were not so easy to see, or perhaps it was too easy.
The following year in grade 7 was my try to win the whole thing. I did a bunch of research on Geysers. Had to do something diferent than magnets after all, and everyone knew someone was going to try the volcano thing anyway. Geysers were different though. My dad and I, mostly my dad, built a “fully functioning” geyser out of concrete, steal mesh, clay, and plastic piping. AFter the behemoth was built, I could say my spiel and then make the geyser go off by blowing into a plastic pipe. Maybe it was rubber, I don’t fully remember that part, as it has since been disassembled.
Anyway, after my initial presentation I made the show!
That thing was so heavy to lug into the gym!
I set it up at my table, and everyone else got to learn about geysers all day.
The only negative part about the experience was that the guy next to me had made some sort of gun out of ball bearings and Newton’s Cradle or something. So, I was pelted with ball bearings all day.
And then he won.
I came second, which was fine. Saved me from lugging my thing all the way downtown for provincials.
The following year in Grade 8 I also made the show with a project about friction and which kinds of surfaces could make a car go faster down a track. I didn’t place as well, but my major effort had been the year before. That was my time to go for it and I had done my absolute best, so there was nothing to be sad about.