For the past six weeks, 84 middle schoolers at Sacred Heart Parish School have been investing their time, energy and creativity into projects that went on display at the science and engineering fair on Feb. 26.
In a room filled with posters, replicas, models, artwork and experiments, each project tapped into life skills that went way beyond the artistic visuals of their project.
“One of my goals is to always kind of prepare them for whatever they aspire to, whatever that may be for them, or whatever career path they pick,” said Emily O’Neal, the science and social studies teacher for sixth through eighth grade. “You have to be able to develop these soft skills to be able to read well, research well, be curious about a topic, and then to also persevere.”
The projects showcased the middle schoolers’ creativity through ornate displays, catered to each student’s interest.
Take sixth-grader Cristiana Otero’s project for instance. Otero, 12, created a complex diagram of the water cycle, her display incorporating a wide range of materials – string for rain, a light for the sun, cotton for clouds, brown paper for the mountains, and paint to highlight the variations of blue in the ocean.
She said her favorite part of the project was creating the nature scene.
While the students had the creative freedom to make a final project based on a topic they were passionate about, all of their choices had one thing in common: lots of research.
The students needed to learn how to become researchers, find credible sources and become an expert on their topics.
Victoria Cantu and Thomas Warwick, both in eighth grade, researched the question: How strong is the Coronado Bridge?
Their final display, a replica of the curved overpass over the bay, was built with their newly acquired knowledge that the real bridge can hold over 10,000 tons and can withstand earthquakes. They presented their findings to passing family members and teachers at the fair.
“We want to have kids be able to present, to be able to be articulate, to be able to engage with an audience,” O’Neal said. “That’s going to serve them well in whatever they do – even their high schools they go to, their scholarships they try to get for college, when many have interviews for that, and then down the road, an interview for their dream job or whatever it might be.”
