Tuesday, May 13, 2008 • School is in session today
Instructional day 166 • 11 days left in school year • Calendar
¡Nuevo! Información en Español
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008 • School is in session today |
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¡Nuevo! Información en Español |
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Feature article Boy takes science project on the roadArticle and pictures by Tammy Lane Are you smarter than a fifth-grader?  Alex Walker, a fifth-grader at Athens-Chilesburg Elementary, studied how best to remove cave graffiti. After the science fairs, he presented his findings to the local chapter of the National Speleological Society. Competing against students in grades 5-8, Alex won third place in chemistry at the regional science fair. His project did not score a ribbon at the state level, but that doesn’t mean his work has gone unnoticed. “His project continues to have impact on the community,” said Lori Bowen, a FCPS science specialist. Alex, 11, was invited to present his findings at the April 15 meeting of the Blue Grass Grotto, the local chapter of the National Speleological Society. “I think this is an amazing accomplishment for a fifth-grader and a wonderful real-life application of science, too,” Bowen said. The youngster was buoyed by the turn of events. “This is what I wanted my project to help to do in the first place,” said Alex, who first noticed graffiti while caving with his Boy Scout troop. In last year’s initial project, Alex determined that carbonic acids, like those found in Coke, will remove scratches and smoke stains from cave walls. This year, he concluded that acetones, like in nail polish remover, can take off spray paint. In his experiment, which rated several solvents, he discovered that an environmentally safe spray-paint remover worked best. Alex’s family tried to encourage him after the science fair disappointment. “Making a difference doesn’t have anything to do with winning a ribbon,” Monica Walker said she told her son. Soon afterward, Alex’s father, Larry, met a member of the Blue Grass Grotto at a Scout leaders meeting. That led to the spelunkers’ invitation for Alex to share the findings from both of his experiments. “It is valuable information for cavers, and anytime we can encourage children’s interest in caves, we try to do so,” said the grotto’s Matt Simpson. Cavers do all sorts of restoration work, including gating caves for preservation, gluing stalagmites back together and removing graffiti. “We were thrilled to find that some of the solutions that he was using to remove graffiti all revolved around being eco-friendly,” said chapter co-director Stacy Doose. Alex’s use of carbonic acid – the acid that actually formed the cave itself – also was impressive, Doose added. “I don’t know that his ideas can be used in a cave until we better understand its impact on the cave ecosystem,” Simpson said. “Even using bio-degradable solutions could pose a danger to the delicate balance of life in a cave, but his ideas are definitely worthy of further pursuit.” Alex was confident that his legwork could help. “It’s a great feeling to feel you have made a difference,” he said.
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