By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— Volcanoes, DNA models and poster boards reflecting dozens of projects fill the cafeteria of Riverchase Middle School Jan. 26 for the school’s annual Science Fair.

In past years, eighth grade students were the only participants in the event, but physical science teacher Alicia Melton said they wanted to expand into the other grades this year.

“Just to watch (the students) light up, to see that their work is being recognized for what it is and that people are seeing the good things they are doing, is really cool,” Melton said.

Sixth grade students study earth science, so the students displayed weather pamphlets, model volcanoes and more, and the seventh grade students presented colorful DNA models at the entrance of the school.

In eighth grade, the students study physical science, and every student created a project for the science fair this year. Each student gave a presentation during class, and the presentations were judged in one of four categories.

“Our focus this year was really making sure they followed the scientific method, scientific design to actually develop a hypothesis and then carry out an experiment alongside it,” Melton said. “They’ve really worked hard to get to the point they are.”

At 7 p.m. the crowd of parents, students and friends gathered in the gym for the awards ceremony. First, second and third place winners have the opportunity to take their projects to the regional science fair at UAB March 5, according to Melton.

In the Behavior/Social Science category, Kylie Snyder’s project titled “How does the color of text affect readability?” won first place. Alex Johnson placed second, and Aleah Hayes won third place.

Elis Hansen’s project “How does the brand of gum affect how long the flavor lasts?” won first place in the Engineering/Product Analysis category, followed by Gavin Taylor and Josh Rehovsky.

In the Physical Science category “Bounce, Bounce, Bounce” by David Aldrich took first place, Kaitlyn Gailey won second and Will Squires took third.

The final category was Biology/Health and Medicine. Jordan Shapach won with a project titled “How does the color of light affect plant growth?” Ellie McPherson placed second, followed by Isabella Heape in third place.

“I think my favorite part was looking at everyone’s testable question,” Melton said. “Just seeing what their interests were and some of the different projects that appeal to them was really cool. They really can interject a little bit of their personality in it.”