Volume 6, Issue 3
December 15, 2024 - January 14, 2025
Berkeley resident builds electric vehicle in his garage BY JACQUI SOMEN SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
A student describes their science fair project to a judge at Skinner Middle School on Dec. 3. PHOTO BY NATALIE KERR
Science fair builds research skills, confidence in students Skinner Middle event attracts hundreds of students eager to learn BY NATALIE KERR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Do you remember your school science fair? Venturing bravely out into the world of scientific discovery with a posterboard, glue and a cursory understanding of the scientific method, hoping for results that reward our effort. Mentos dropped into a bottle of Coca-Cola produces an explosion. Cornstarch mixed with water is a liquid when stirred slowly, but it solidifies under quick pressure. These feats of science ushered us, slack jawed, through an important rite of passage. But the science fair is disappearing, with fewer and fewer schools coordinating student science projects. POSTAL Customer
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This is not the case, however, at Skinner Middle School, where hundreds of students present their research to dozens of judges who award passing grades and prize ribbons to top projects. It’s a huge effort every year, said Christopher Martin, the school’s science department head, but the value for students’ science literacy and soft skills like time management and public speaking is well worth it. “They typically have not had a lot of science instruction in elementary, if at all,” Martin said. “This is a really big shift to have a designated class every day and embark on this endeavor. They just haven’t had this opportunity.” The school purchases the materials students need for their projects and allocates class time when experiments can be conducted, data collected and charted, and conclusions written up. This takes pressure off families and instead teaches students to work independently, Martin said. Projects range from “How high does a Hot Wheels track have to be for a marble to make a loop?” to investi-
gating how age affects the pattern-separation abilities of the dentate gyrus (a region of the brain in the hippocampus). Seventh-graders Bennett Niehues and Emmett Salzburg are cross-country runners, so they conducted an experiment investigating how body temperature affects running performance. They asked participants to run a 1.5-mile route at normal body temperature, after dunking in an ice bath and after sweating in a sauna. For every participant, average body temperature led to peak performance, and most reported cramping muscles and soreness after the sauna and shortness of breath and sluggishness after the ice bath. Niehues and Salzburg enjoyed the experiment, but it took a lot of time to coordinate, gather the materials, determine a route and schedule the experiment on days when the outside temperature was cold or hot enough to align with the experiment, they said. “Next year, I’m definitely doing something where I just get to sit around and eat food,” Salzburg said. SEE SCIENCE FAIR, P14
Gray Carstens, a junior at CU Denver studying electrical engineering, is looking to add a spark to his contributions to reducing greenhouse gases. “If we want to change the world, we’re just going to have to do it ourselves,” said Carstens, a Berkeley neighborhood resident who has been building an electric vehicle in his garage for the past 18 months. “The fact of the matter is that after about five years of owning an electric vehicle, it’s net-zero in terms of emissions output,” he added, “and zero-emissions cars are an important step to addressing climate change.” Even as it is often said that the actions of an individual may not make a significant effect, they do add up, especially when it comes to electric vehicle use. In a six-year study, researchers at the University of Southern California discovered that with more electric vehicle adoption came lower air-pollution levels and fewer asthma-related emergency room visits. SEE ELECTRIC, P15
WHAT’S INSIDE PG. 2 SAFETY DANCE City completes 25th Ave. and Federal Boulevard improvements
PG. 3 BRINGING CHEER North High team to perform at MCA Denver
PG. 4 BANKING ON IT Denver food providers stay busy during the holidays
PG. 10 SOWING SEEDS Tips to prepare for spring gardening, conserving water