Springfield school brews up excellence at science fair

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Students from Ridgewood School participated in their annual science fair on Thursday, presenting projects on a variety of topics.

Head of School Aliya Ranginwala said students from fifth to eighth grade had been working on the projects for several weeks, which provided a good learning experience.

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“It’s pretty fun initially but the children do get a little stressed because it’s a lot of work,” she said.

Projects presented this year covered a wide range of subjects, including teeth whitening and bacterial growth on pop cans.

Khushi Patel, an eighth grader at the private school, did a project on the Seebeck effect, a method of energy conversion which can turn heat into electricity. She said she was looking for a way to make the process more effective.

“It could save families around the world thousands of dollars every year,” she said.

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Students are expected to follow the scientific method with their projects, including forming a hypothesis, performing their experiments and preparing a report afterward.

Ridgewood School has a long history of students producing projects that win their way to being shown at the district science fair, which takes place at Central State University, Ranginwala said, and then move on to the Ohio State Science Fair.

“We usually send about five to eight students to the state,” she said.

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Ranginwala said many of the experiments were interesting and she expects good things from all the participants.

“We’re very proud and very committed to educational excellence,” she said.

Ridgewood School eight grade student (left) Khushi Patel explains her science project to judges Gail Suzel and Karen Blevins. JEFF GUERINI/STAFF

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