Fun side of science blossoms at STEM Expo

The multipurpose room at the Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas’ Henderson campus normally is packed with students eating lunch or taking part in an assembly.

On Saturday afternoon, however, hundreds of science projects filled the room and spilled into the school’s courtyard for the second annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Expo.

“This is a chance for students to strut their stuff and show how talented they are,” said Dean of Students Noah Stevens.

More than 175 demonstrations were on display at the Sandy Ridge Avenue campus including a homemade lava lamp made with water, vegetable oil, food coloring and Alka-Seltzer tablets as well as fireproof money.

Junior Sadie Yure figured out that when you soak a dollar bill in a mixture of alcohol, water and salt, the money won’t burn if you set it on fire.

“The alcohol will burn before it gets to the paper,” she said.

According to Yure, the STEM Expo gives students a chance to show how enjoyable science can be.

“People don’t think of science and math as fun things,” she said. “Everyone here has put a lot of work into their projects, and there are so many cool things on display that you wouldn’t connect with science.”

Sophomores Cameron Abbey and Jordun Harel built a cannon that explodes when a mixture of water and calcium carbide powder is lit on fire.

The duo came up with the idea for the cannon when Abbey’s grandfather gave him a 1963 edition of the magazine Popular Mechanics.

“People get to see how loud cannons are, how gas is flammable and how far they shoot,” Abbey said.

Fifth-grade robotics teacher Andrew Lindstrum said the STEM Expo is an event that sets the school apart.

“On top of the science and learning aspects, students also learn presentation and communication skills,” Lindstrum said. “In the real world you have to be able to communicate your science knowledge with people and express your thinking.”

Outside Coral Academy, sophomore David Rashidi was seated on a hovercraft he made out of leaf blowers, plywood and a blue tarp.

“Professional ones are made from fans that cost hundreds of dollars, so I thought about what else gives that much power and came up with this,” he said, pointing to the leaf blowers.

Rashidi spent nearly two months building the hovercraft with little help.

“I learned so much just making it,” he said.

Cousins and fifth-graders Cidney Pahang and Dylan Dang worked in a group to show exactly how inertia, or Newton’s first law of motion, works.

“An object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest unless something like the ground stops it,” Pahang said.

By tipping a cup filled with a 100-foot metal chain, the group showed how the chain continues to move until it’s forced to come to a stop when it hits the ground.

“It helps people learn more about inertia and fully understand it,” Pahang said.

“People really enjoy seeing it,” Dang added.

Stevens said he hopes the STEM Expo continues to expand in the future.

“We want to raise awareness about STEM education and continue to allow our students to challenge themselves,” he said. “I always want it to be a fun event for the community.”

Contact Ann Friedman at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Find her on Twitter: @AnnFriedmanRJ.