Smarty pants at Saline Middle School

On Saturday I popped into the cafeteria at Saline Middle School where there were 80 display boards set up for the annual science fair. What a bunch of amazing kids! Science teacher Grant Fanning had called to invite me to come check it out. I'm glad I did. Gone are the days of paper mache' volcanoes spewing baking soda lava. These experiments were creative, timely and relevant to the kids' lives. One girl compared mascaras to prove a theory on which is least likely to smudge (Maybelline Full 'N Safe is the best bet, she concluded). Sounds like a fun experiment and she used the scientific method to provide a hypothesis, test data, show her procedure and come to a conclusion. Another student proved that Wintergreen Lifesavers are indeed the only mints that will shoot lightening in your mouth (apparently it's the steric acid, the teen scientist explained). Kudos to Mr Fanning and all the science teachers at SMS for encouraging students to study something relevant. Nice job kids. I'm writing a story that will include all the participants names and the fair winners. Watch for it in the Reporter (next week or so).