SCIENCE STATE OF MIND
Holloway students take classroom projects all the way to the top
BY SUZANNE LOUDAMY Staff Writer

Jack Terrell (left) and Jeffrey Yeager

Jack Terrell and Jeffrey Yeager took their science class projects all the way to state. Both, receiving outstanding grades at the classroom level, entered their work at the district level. The competition took place at Tyler Junior College.

Terrell said his project placed first against all other sixth graders in the biological science division and placed second when pitted against sixth through eighth graders.

Yeager's project was in a different division, physical science, so the boys were not in direct competition with each other. His project grabbed first place honors for all sixth graders and second place overall for sixth through eighth grades.

The next level of competition took the science guys to Kilgore Junior College for regionals. Terrell's entry won sixth place while Yeager placed fourth.

The boys were state bound. Off to San Antonio, families in tow, the competition intensified. At the regional and state levels, the participants meet with judges and explain their projects. Both agreed that this was a little nerve racking, but enjoyed talking to the judges and seeing their interest.

Terrell's project, named Brain Boost, brought him in with honorable mention among biological science projects from across the state.

The hypothesis to prove in Brain Boost was that children exercising would improve their mathematics test scores. Terrell proved this by testing 97 of his fellow students and then everyone got up and danced to music from High School Musical II.

"The exercise increases blood flow which takes more oxygen to the brain resulting in clearer thinking," Terrell said. "Of the 97 students who tested, 89 of them improved their scores after dancing. That's a 92 percent improvement."

Yeager took his project entitled In Honor of the King to San Antonio for the judges to scrutinize. With a model trebuchet, he tested different weights on fixed and hinged and on counter weights to see which threw the ball the furthest. Unfortunately, Yeager's project did not place at the state level.

They have both been nominated for the Society for Science and the Public Middle School Program. This is the only U.S. national science competition for science fair participants in grades five through eight.

Students are selected annually from a national field of thousands to participate in the finals of this competition. Gathering in Washington, D.C., each October, the finalists present their projects to professional scientist judges and their fellow students. In addition, student teams perform a variety of scientific experiments.

The boys are anxious to hear if they will be among the 300 semifinalist and possibly even be among the 30 finalist who will be chosen for an all-expense paid trip to the Washington, D.C., event.