If you stuff a football helmet with an egg and drop two 15-pound weights from a height of 2 feet, the egg can crack.
It also depends on the helmet, said sixth grader Luke Lamb of Kaffee Middle School.
After doing the experiment this fall, all that was left was to write a conclusion for the school’s science exhibition and stir an unbroken egg.
For this project, Lamb participated in school science fairs and qualified for district, regional, and Texas Science & Engineering Fairs (known as state science fairs). After earning his 1st place in his state’s category Translational His Medical His Science junior division, he is now challenging himself to compete at the national level.
But this experiment was not about eggs.
Concerned about the risk of brain injury in high-contact sports like soccer, Lamb wanted to know how much protection different types of helmets offered. It didn’t work, but the hardshell helmet did.
“I chose the egg because I realized that the egg represents the skull and the brain. The skull is like the shell of an egg,” Lam said.
Students from across Coastal Bend attended the Regional Science Fair at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi in February. The State Science Fair was held at Texas A&M University in College Station.
The only other Corpus Christi ISD student to attend the state science fair won first place in the high school division in the same translational medical science category as Lam. Rae High School student Sharmada Paracurti’s project focused on diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease.
Eight Kaffee Middle School students advanced to the state level this year, according to science teacher Cynthia Hopkins. The three have a chance to advance to the National Science Fair.
“Each project is personal to them,” Hopkins said. “If they are not interested, why am I interested in scoring it and why are the judges interested in hearing it? I have to.”
Lam, who says he enjoys experimenting with science, had a distinct passion for his projects. He plays soccer with his friends and two of his family members have brain injuries.
Soccer causes the highest number of sports-related concussions and other traumatic brain injuries in young people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is not designed to prevent
“Therefore, I felt a responsibility to do this project. I knew that I could help my family, friends and myself with this experiment.”
After testing two softshell helmets, Lamb found that both the impact foam helmet and the polyester and foam helmet cracked the egg, but the hardshell helmet protected the egg.
“I thought it was really amazing that they didn’t do so well,” Lamb said. I’m glad you did.”
Preparing for a national science fair is a rigorous process. Students must submit their information online before the field is limited to 300 people, followed by 30 students nationwide.
Hopkins said Kaffee Middle School had students attending the state science fair, but none of them made it through the national application process.
“We’re not there yet,” Hopkins said. “We are getting there.”
Students will know if they go on in the fall.
Also on the list are 7th graders Brooklyn Wall and Kylie Spencer.
Soccer player Wall invited a few friends to visit his neighborhood park to test the best angle to kick a soccer ball to score a goal.
According to Wall, the optimal angle was 75 degrees.
Spencer wanted to test listeners’ emotional responses to different types of music.
In his research, Spencer found a connection with “the theory that many people can tap into their subconscious mind how certain tones make them feel.” calm down.
Spencer played instrumental music for listeners and asked them to complete a questionnaire describing how different instruments evoke emotions.
“Most people gave an overall vote that the saddest instrument was the piano and the happiest instrument was the guitar,” Spencer said.
Eighth grader Michael Udoh also competed in the states and presented data on whether vegetable oil or motor oil produced better heat when burned. Udoh will not be competing in the national competition, but he was awarded a $2,000 check by the Port of Corpus Christi for his efforts.
“I want to be an engineer,” said Udoh, explaining that he is interested in renewable fuel sources and is looking for alternatives to oil.
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