The HHS STEM Fair: a battle of smarts and mastery of the properties of science, technology, engineering and math.

This year at the fair participants were scarce but the work was immense. Fresh foods versus frozen foods: who will come out on top? The Peppermint Effect: I don’t even know how this dope-ish idea works, but hell, it’s science. Hungry Venus fly traps: how do they eat? These were just some of the projects that students created and presented at HHS’ fair on Feb. 11

Ever have a tummy ache from too much scientific process? Well, junior Jill Drummy has the answer on which antacid is going to help you most.  Her project found that Tagamet  is the most potent and effective antacid because it comes in various forms: pill, liquid, and injection. It is also a prescription antacid which is why it is so powerful. So if your gourd’s in a knot, pop a couple of Tagament and you’ll feel as good as new. The worst, or least effective, antacid Drummy found is Rolaids. In addition to not doing the job, the brand has been recalled multiple times due to quality control, most recently in 2010. So don’t buy them basically.

The Peppermint Effect, a project by freshmen Michaela Murphy and Yasmina Burkat, tested human reaction time when smelling peppermint, with the theory being that people can react faster when they’re exposed to minty goodness. Freshman Sierra Little-Gill conducted an experiment on composting with worms, and junior Annika Rowland tested musicians’ perception of music.

Murphy, Burkat, Little-Gill and Rowland may advance to the regional round of the science fair, according to Ms. Emerson, anatomy and biology teacher and coordinator of the fair.

Besides dissecting animals, Ms. Emerson is also very good at dissecting my questions and giving me answers! Ms. Emerson thought the fair went very well, although she would have loved if more people participated (hint, hint). She loved the amount of support that the fair received from the community as well. Her favorite project was one on the Venus fly trap, which described how the carnivorous plant digests along with its other functions.