Who Wants to Be a Mad Scientist?
On Wednesday afternoon, Mrs. Lockwood made an important announcement to her fourth-grade class.
“Clark Elementary School will be hosting a science fair next week,” she told them. “Everyone is expected to participate. You’ll each be doing a project and giving a presentation to the class.”
Some of the kids groaned, but Kyle Blake and Mia Perez grinned at each other in excitement. This assignment was perfect for them. Kyle and Mia were next-door neighbors and best friends. More importantly, they both loved animals and science. Mostly because they wanted to be veterinarians like Kyle’s mom, Dr. Blake, when they grew up.
Billy Evans raised his hand. “Can I make stink bombs?” he asked.
“Eww!” Lacey Ortega squealed.
“Do you have a scientific question about stink bombs, Billy?” Mrs. Lockwood asked. She wasn’t grossed out.
Billy shrugged. “No, I just want to make stink bombs,” he said.
Mia rolled her eyes. Billy always wanted to do the grossest thing possible.
Mrs. Lockwood smiled. “Well, stink bombs could be a project for the science fair,” she said. “But your project has to follow these steps.” She passed out an instruction sheet to all the students.
There were six steps written on the front of the handout.
“I need to know what your projects will be by tomorrow,” Mrs. Lockwood continued. “If you don’t have an idea, there are some ideas for projects listed on the back of your instruction sheet.”
One of the students raised his hand. “What if my dad wants to help?” he asked.
“Parents can help build anything that requires using power tools,” Mrs. Lockwood said. “But you have to do the research and experiment on your own.”
Mia leaned over to Kyle’s desk. “Are you going to do a project about animals?” she whispered.
Kyle shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said.
Mia looked surprised. “Why not? You know a lot about them.”
“That’s exactly why,” Kyle said. “It will be more fun to do something else.”
“Do you have any ideas?” Mia asked.
Kyle nodded. “I like baseball, but I’m not a very good hitter,” he admitted. “I thought that using a different bat could help. I think I’ll do an experiment to find out if using a metal bat or a wooden bat makes a difference.”
“That’s a cool experiment,” Mia said.
“Thanks,” Kyle said. “What about you?”
“I don’t know yet,” Mia said. “I like to help my mom in the garden, so maybe something with plants.”
“Good idea,” Kyle said.
When the bell rang, Ryan Murray stopped Kyle and Mia by the door. “You know a lot about animals, right?” he asked them.
“Yeah,” Kyle said. “My mom is a vet. Why?”
“I want to do my experiment with mice,” Ryan explained. “I want to find out if music makes them smarter. But I don’t really know anything about mice. So I might need some advice.”
“No problem,” Kyle said. “Mia and I will be happy to help.”