The F.E. Bellows’ auditorium was abuzz with activity March 19 with the “Science Expo: Starring Future Scientists of America” was well underway.

By Janice Llanes Fabry

The F.E. Bellows’ auditorium was abuzz with activity March 19 with the “Science Expo: Starring Future Scientists of America” was well underway. The annual event showcases the projects of third, fourth, and fifth graders, covering biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, math, and environmental science.

“The Science Expo allows students who have an interest in exploring a scientific topic to do so above and beyond the classroom curriculum,” said Principal Marge Longabucco.

This year, 140 students participated and the entire school reaped the benefits. As fourth- grade teacher Joan Spedafino noted, “The Expo gets the students to express themselves in yet another way. Participants get to present their findings, and the rest of the school enjoys it as well.”

Parents as Science Partners Chairs Kathy Last Barney and Marc Karell, who have participated for 21 and 20 years, respectively, judged the fourth- and fifth-grade projects. Other community members and parents on board were Patricia Alberts, Katie Barney, Dan Gallagher, Eric Jones, Mark Kramer, Dan Natchez, Louise Ryan, Nick Tampio, Justin Vallarelli, and Jennifer Young.

“I call it the Everything Expo because it covers more than science,” said Karell. “The students are responsible for logical thinking, design, art, graphics, computer skills, and presenting as well. One of them is going to win a Nobel Prize someday and they’ll say, ‘I remember when.’”

One of this year’s winners, fourth grader Kay Nitta, investigated pendulums. “I didn’t know what they were when I was little, so I chose to do my project on four different types of pendulums,” he said. “No two types are the same.”

Joseph Bianchini, also a fourth grader, studied brain freeze. In what turned out to be a mouth-watering experiment he and classmate Dillon Nashelsky tested Italian ices, soft vanilla ice cream, ice pops, ice cream sandwiches, and ice water. Joseph noted, “Brain freeze occurs when something extremely cold touches the roof of the mouth and the cold blood rushes to your head. The cure is touching the roof of your mouth with your tongue.”

Fellow fourth grader Stella Sanko investigated how computer screen colors affect memory. After testing 20 subjects, she determined that most people prefer and more readily recall white text on a black background.

Many Expo winners will go on to the Tri County Science and Technology Fair at White Plains High School on April 25. Congratulations to fourth graders Kay Nitta, Gabriella Messina, Luke West, Ronan West, Jacob Kasanin, Russell Foster, Mirabelle Brown, and Ethan Felenstein; and fifth graders Jack Edwards, Ava Liebmann, Jake Diamond, Ryo Kamashiola, Olivia Auffarth, Abigael Heaton, Peter Nicholas, Benjamin D’Amico, and Evelyn Picone.