SCIENCE FAIR TO KICK OFF

Tom Richards, a ninth-grader from Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School, wondered if cats are right and left pawed as people are right and left handed.

He conducted an experiment to find out. Richards' science project is among hundreds being judged today at the 36th annual Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair.

The two top winners of this Regional Science Fair advance to the 43rd annual International Science and Engineering Fair in Nashville, Tenn., May 10-16. Students win an expense-paid trip to the competition.

"Some cats did show a preference," Richards said Monday as he was preparing for today's judging. "But for most, it was too close to call."

He tested 15 cats, pets of family and friends, to see if they preferred the left or right paw. He used a toy mouse on a string and observed which paw the cat batted with. He placed catnip in a box and noted which paw the cat used to reach into the box. He placed the catnip on top of the box and saw which paw the cat stepped with first.

"I had to do a lot of research," Richards said. "I had to really study to find anything about this at all."

Ninth-grade earth-science teacher Mark Hahn said: "Science is a process; it's a way to find out the facts and learn information.

"From my perspective, I didn't dictate what topics the students could study. I wanted them to use the scientific method. We had experiments ranging from household cleaners to fairly sophisticated physics experiments.

"This is what science is all about," Hahn said. "All the facts that students have to learn are really accessories. Unless you really do an experiment and find out for yourself, you haven't experienced science."

All ninth-grade science students must complete a science project. Also eighth-grade pre-algebra students must conduct a math experiment. Math is one category at the science fair.

Ken Ostendorf, eighth-grade pre-algebra teacher, said, "This allows them to explore topics they cannot get into during class."

He said students constructed geometry models and studied mathematics principles.

Wesley Grabel, an eighth-grade math student, studied a cycloid in an experiment using marbles.

A cycloid is the path the outside point of a wheel follows as it rolls along a straight line. He discovered that marbles travel the same speed along either side of the cycloid.

Grabel said science projects are "funner" than some other classwork. "You learn a lot about your project and you learn something new."

In conjunction with the science fair, Oak Ridge astronaut Linda Godwin will present the E.L. Bahn Memorial Lecture Wednesday at the Show Me Center. A reception is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. and the lecture begins at 7:30. She will talk about her flight in space. The lecture is open to the public.

Godwin will also speak to students today while the projects are being judged. At the same time, participating teachers will meet to share ideas about science projects that work and don't work in the classroom.

Following judging today, the fair exhibition will be open to the public.

The fair is also open to the public Wednesday from 9 a.m. to the start of the Bahn lecture and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

An awards ceremony will be held Thursday. Students will know today the results from category judging, but a number of special awards and scholarships are announced Thursday.

The Science Fair is co-sponsored by Southeast Missouri State University and the Southeast Missourian newspaper. A number of other businesses, industries and professional organizations support the fair.