Summer STEM Challenge

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:

**Colton G. - Learning to be a Paleontologist!

Hope Elementary - Carlsbad, CA
Grade: 2
Project Description: I learned about being a paleontologist. I learned how to dig for fossils and be very patient. I used a screwdriver and a brush to carefully dig. I also learned how to prepare fossils. I learned how to clean the bones with a drill. I saw an allosaurus tooth, a raptor, a t-rex, dinosaur footprints, and camarasaurs bones. I love dinosaurs and I want to be a paleontologist.


**Alyson E.  -  Newton's Third Law!

La Costa Heights Elementary - Carlsbad, CA
Grade: K-4
Project Description:  Newton's Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. How forces act and how this balloon rocket car is a simplified way of how a rocket works.


MIDDLE SCHOOL:

**Agape de Unamuno - Excavation Experiment

Marshall Elementary
Grade: 5
Project Description: Hello, my name is Agape. I am eleven years old. My siblings and I really want to be paleontologists and love dinosaurs, so, for my project, I did a fossil hunt.  In this experiment, we used a paintbrush and sand shovels to excavate bones in my backyard. We were originally looking for dinosaur bones. The spot where we first started digging in the dirt was where my brother is (on the right-side of Figure #2). We searched for a while until my dad told us there was a skeleton near the bushes (on the left side of Figure #2). Then we realized we would be happy with any fossil we come across, it would still give us a good experience for being paleontologists. With the help of my family, we found 14 bones (the smallest bone is actually two, as you see in Figure #1). I did not record the time we found the first bone, but the rest were found at roughly 7:30pm.

According to my research, the bones might belong to an opossum. But there is no exact answer you can get when you are researching from various sources on the internet. So the fossils could belong to multiple animals, or even a small dog.

During my research I found out that there is a very defined difference in your bones, depending on your age. For an example, if you are younger, say 13 years old, your bones look less developed than when you are 60 years old.  My guess is this is because of how much calcium you consume over the years. I also learned about radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon dating is when you measure how much carbon is in the bones. Scientists use this to determine the age of the fossils. I plan on continuing my research and I hope to have the job of a paleontologist for a career.


HIGH SCHOOL:

**Luke L. - Using Alternative Farming Methods to Preserve Water while Feeding Global Populations

Canyon Crest Academy - Rancho Santa Fe
Grade: 11
Project Description: For my challenge, I built an aquaponics grow wall to see if this solution could help mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI). By placing thermometers in different locations and measuring the temperature at different times of day, I learned this would in fact help reduce temperatures in UHI environments. When I was adding water one day, I decided to start measuring how much water was lost to evapotranspiration compared to traditional agricultural methods and an indoor aquaponics system.

With the severity of the California drought, I learned that my aquaponics grow wall lost 41.3% less water volume compared to traditional methods of irrigation and my indoor system lost 49.2% less of water volume than traditional methods. Both systems would be able to save farmers millions of gallons of water per year, while still allowing them to grow a large amount of inexpensive, sustainable food!

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