SCIENCE PROJECTS OFFER SURPRISES

Amanda Boswell wanted to see how long Energizer batteries would keep going and going and going.

"They didn't," said Boswell, a seventh-grade student at St. Vincent De Paul School in Cape Girardeau.

In test after test, a less-expensive Focal battery kept going minutes after Energizer quit, she said.

"This was a surprise to me," said Boswell, who has an entry in the junior division of the 42nd annual Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair. The event started at the Holiday Inn Convention Center Tuesday and runs through Thursday.

During the first test, the Focal battery kept going 20 minutes after the Energizer quit, she said. During the second test, Boswell switched flashlights, and again Focal kept going, 35 minutes longer, she said.

In other tests the Focal battery lasted from 10 to 20 minutes longer, she said.

In her tests, Boswell placed the batteries in flashlights and kept watch until the lights quit burning.

Cody Wayne Bell was surprised that his dog selected a white food dish over a red and a blue dish 80 percent of the time.

"I thought the red dish would be the dog's choice," said Bell, a seventh-grader at St. Vincent De Paul.

Bell tested preferences for colors of feeding bowls by a dog, cat and goat. The goat selected the white bowl 50 percent of the time. Only the cat preferred a colored bowl, selecting the blue bowl 50 percent of the time.

Bell placed blue, white and red bowls with food in them during 10 testings on each animal. The dog selected the white bowl eight times and the red bowl twice; the cat selected blue five times, red four times and white once; and the goat preferred the white bowl five times, blue four times and red once.

"I really wanted to know what color bowls to buy for the animals," said Bell, whose family owns a dog, cat and goat.

The Science Fair will remain open for public viewing from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.

Although the first three places in each event have already been selected, the big awards will be announced at 7 p.m. Thursday at an awards ceremony.

A total of 299 students with 229 entries from schools throughout the Southeast Missouri are competing at the fair.

Students in the seventh and eighth grades competed in the junior division while students in the ninth through 12th grades competed in the senior division. A number of local prizes are provided in various categories.

Two senior division projects will advance to the International Science and Engineering Fair at Fort Worth, Texas, this year.