GARLAND – CFBISD students and administrators, including Superintendent Dr. John Chapman, were in attendance for the regional elementary science fair at the Curtis Culwell Special Events Center in Garland. Carrollton-Farmers Branch along with six other school districts (Allen, Mesquite, McKinney, Garland, and Richardson) took part in the fair.
CFBISD student Kellan Lewis a first grader at Kent Elementary took home a first-place trophy for his science project “Lightning… By the Hammer of Thor!”
Lewis, a big Marvel fan, wanted to come up with a way that he could create a superhero power with science. At last year’s event, he used magnets to make his Star Wars toys levitate creating ‘The Force’ with science earning a similar first-place finish as a kindergartner.
After watching a science program explaining that static electricity was the same thing as lightning, Lewis decided to make Thor’s Hammer. One of the experiments used an aluminum pie plate and styrofoam, which he changed from a pie plate to mini loaf pans, and cut out a styrofoam handle to put it all together. After constructing the project, the Kent First Grader then tested different ways to create static electricity to find the most effective method and recorded it all for the project.
Lewis won first-place at Kent Elementary, then first-place for his grade and division (engineering) at regionals and, finally, was awarded the Grand Prize. He was one of three grand prize winners overall in grades 1-6 across seven districts. His project also included a 20-page handwritten journal.
Science runs in the family as his sister, Rayli Lewis, won third-place at regionals for her project, “Shake, Rattle, and (Don’t) Fall”, which tested building methods to withstand earthquakes.
Judges for this event have backgrounds in science and engineering and are recruited from area businesses and universities.