On February 4, eleven students from four Mount Pleasant ISD campuses competed in the virtual Region VIII ESC Science and Invention Fair. Four MPISD students were awarded medals for their projects.

Ian Crockett, a 5th grade student at Wallace Middle School, took 1st place with his project, “What’s On Your Burger?” Crockett conducted an investigation to determine which burger wrapping is the most sanitary. He swabbed each burger and observed bacteria growing over a 3 day period. He concluded that is in not the material that matters, but how tightly the burger is wrapped.

Tenley Marshall, 6th grade student at Wallace Middle School, came in 4th place with her project, “Coloring Your Taste Buds.” Marshall investigated the effect color has on taste. She used food coloring to dye white grape juice 3 different colors. Her test subjects taste tested each one and ranked them according to preference. She found that color does affect taste in some people.

Titus Byrd, a 5th grade student at Wallace Middle School, placed 5th with his project “What a Glow”. Byrd was curious if the glow sticks used by emergency responders were affected by the temperature outside. He tested glow sticks in various temperatures and discovered that they glow brighter in high temperatures, but glow longer in colder temperatures.

Scottlyn Lee, a 4th grade student at Annie Sims Elementary, placed 4th with her invention “Mood Matters”. Lee invented a mood collar/bridal for pets to detect their mood. The color of the mood stone changes depending on body temperature which

indicates the way pets are feeling. Her invention can help owners better understand their pet thus creating a closer relationship with them.

Additional MPISD participants included Ivan Flores, a 4th grader from Brice, whose project, “Staying Frosty” researched whether a paper cup, plastic container with a lid, a glass jar, or a metal insulated cup would keep ice from melting the best; Corprew 4th grader, Ulisses Mata, researched five types of gum to see which would make the biggest bubble in his project “Bubble Up”; Maria Renee Castillo, a Wallace 5th grader, whose project “Nail Polish: Price Vs. Durability” sought to know if more expensive nail polishes were truly more durable by using 5 different nail polishes to paint false nails and then timing how long it took for the polish to dissolve in acetone; Wallace 5th grader, Sherlyn Martinez, who tested 7 types of bubble gum to determine which brand would blow the biggest bubble in “Blow Bubble Gum”; Kolter Silman, a Wallace 6th grader, with his project “Is the Bear Telling the Truth?” which compared the strength of 3 types of toilet paper by securing two sheets of each to a cup and testing the strength by placing quarters on top; Wallace 6th grader, Homero Castillo, who conducted an experiment to find out if birds are attracted to color by using food coloring to dye bird food various colors in his project “The Attraction of Birds to Color”; and Hayden Harvill, a Wallace 6th grader, who compared the burn time of gasolines with different octane levels using a pressure washer in “High Octane”.

MPISD Science and Invention fair participants were advised by Jessica Blue and Carrie McMinn at Sims, Jamie King at Brice and Corprew, and Jennifer Stovall at Wallace.