2007 Toyota TAPESTRY Mini-Grant Awardees

[ 2007 Large Grant Awardees ]

Researching and Promoting Shawe Wellness
Project Director: Elizabeth Applegate
Shawe Memorial Jr./Sr. High School
Madison, Indiana
812/273-2150
shawejhscience@popeace.org

Shawe Memorial Jr./Sr. High School will be implementing a wellness policy for the 2007-08 school year. This would be ideal timing for monitoring the effects of eliminating junk food and soda from the school. This project would also improve our students’ research and writing skills through hands-on investigations. First, we'll collect health-related data, such as weight, blood pressure, and body fat levels, from student volunteers throughout the year. We'll then analyze changes in our volunteers each quarter. Second, junior high students will engage in lab activities designed to help them discern firsthand the nutrient differences and immediate health impacts of various types of food. Next, we'll conduct library research to discover the long-term consequences of healthy and unhealthy eating habits. Finally, the ultimate goal will be to create a public relations campaign using the discovered data to persuade the upper grades that our new wellness policy will indeed be beneficial.

What Goes Up Must Come Down
Project Director: Becky Barnes
Staff: Latoya Samuels
Raymond K. Smith Middle School
Luling, Louisiana
985/331-9385
bbarnes@stcharles.k12.la.us

The "What Goes Up Must Come Down" mini-grant will provide materials for students to design and build a boxcar that will be powered by an electric motor they create. Using the scientific method and their created boxcars and motors, students will design and conduct their own experiments investigating such physics concepts as: speed, acceleration, forces, Newton’s Laws, potential energy, kinetic energy, work, and power. By having the students create their own boxcar, motor and testable question, they become stakeholders of their own learning. Expected outcomes for this project include an increased ability in the students being able to set up testable experiments as well as the ability to evaluate and draw conclusions from the data that is collected.

Gullah Greenhouse
Project Director: Catherine Beckham
Staff: Lisa Sutton, Wilma Shaw, Philicia Parker
Shell Point Elementary
Beaufort, South Carolina
843-322-2800
cdiver2002@aol.com

A local language, Gullah, is a Creole blend of African languages and Elizabethan English developed in the slave communities of the plantations of South Carolina and other areas of the coastal South. By creating a "Gullah Greenhouse," we will provide the much-needed connections for our students to appreciate the natural world and their historical pasts. The many indigenous plants will function as valuable habitats for native wildlife species and will incorporate symbols of the local/state natural and cultural history. We plan to grow sweet grass in our greenhouse and plant it throughout the school grounds. We will teach the history of the plant and use it to weave coil baskets, one of America's oldest African crafts. Indigo plants will also be grown and the dye will be used in art and other projects. Indigo was used by the Gullah groups and originally by a state Native- American tribe, the Cherokee. The growing and planting of other local species will be part of our exciting project.

Physics in Your Everyday Life
Project Director: Russell Bird
Mesa Verde Middle School
San Diego, California
858/538-5478
rbird@powayusd.com

This is the culminating project for 8th grade physics students at Mesa Verde Middle School. In groups, the students will create a video that explains and demonstrates how physics concepts are involved in some of their everyday activities. The students will go through the entire video production process from pitching their projects to writing their scripts to editing using iMovie. The final day of class is a mini-film festival where we will view all the finished projects. Finally, the videos will be placed on the class website, so the students can share their productions with family and friends.

It’s A Jungle Out There!
Project Director: Amy Boyd
Project Staff: Dr. Robert Agnus
Prattville High School
Prattville, Alabama
334-365-8804
amy_boyd@bellsouth.net

There are thousands of Monk-like parents who spend hours making sure their children have their hands cleaned with antibacterial soap. But antibacterial soaps have no protection against viruses; normally that is what makes people sick. I am more interested in what happens to chemical once it goes down the drain. Students will be trained how to collect fish, capture and photograph sperm, measure length and weight of fish, anaesthetize fish, set up an experiment with a control, vehicle and different concentrations of antibacterial soap.

Remote Operated Vehicle (R.O.V.) Design and use in the Marine Environment
Project Director: Patrick Burke
Yorktown High School
Yorktown Heights, New York
914/243-8050
pburke@yorktown.org

My Project is a ROV building for the High School Marine Biology Program. The program consists of four inclusion classes (which contain both classified special education and mainstream students). A ROV is a Remote Operated Vehicle. The vehicle is designed to operate underwater. In the project the students will be divided into groups. Using the Solidworks CAD program the students will design their vehicles. The mission is to remove as many of the invasive Zebra Mussels from a local lake without harming the native species. The students will present to the class their ROV to explain the rationale for their design, problems they encountered and how they overcame these problems. I will be able to use this project to teach my students some basics in physics (thrust & buoyancy) and design as well as helping them to learn about the problem of invasive species and the new technologies used in Marine Biology research.

Science Wars: An After School Program to Develop Competitive Science Skills
Project Director: Toby Coleman
Lafayette Intermediate School
Waterloo, New York
315/539-1530
tcoleman2@wcs.k12.ny.us

Junk Box Challenge is a program designed to improve student critical thinking skills in science and ELA. Students will work as teams to plan, design, and engineer devices for bi-monthly competitions. Each team will be provided with a junk box filled with materials to engineer their mechanism. Teams will be allowed time to build and test their devices prior to all competitions. Each junk box challenge is designed to foster critical thinking and build scientific knowledge, as well as, build collaboration skills. Throughout each challenge each team member will be keeping a detailed science journal, where they will integrate language arts skills to help express thoughts, plans, decisions, and analyses. Team members will be required to record all analytical analyses in their science journal in order to bring learned experiences to each new challenge. A challenge consists of an initial meeting where students will learn and research the topic for the specified challenge, and begin designing and planning their devices. After each competition a discussion will take place to allow students to share their thoughts and findings. Awards will be given to winners.

Have We Evolved? A Look at Darwin in the Classroom
Project Director: Julie Cordonnier
Lorain County Early College
Elyria, Ohio
440/366-7689
jcordonn@lorainccc.edu

The media and others bombard students about Darwin and evolution. But how many know what Darwin said, or his views on his work? In this study, all ninth and tenth grade students will be presented with a cross curricular unit on Darwin. In their history class, students will look at the signs of the time. In their English and Science courses, the students will tackle workings including Origin of Species. Students will draw conclusions on the type of scientist Darwin was by taking notes of his methods and his findings. Students will use literary strategies to compare Darwin to other scientists. They will draw conclusions to determine if Darwin’s ideas were based on scientific evidence and whether those conclusions would hold up today. Students will travel to Cleveland Museum of Natural History to meet with anthropologists and view evolution samples at the museum. Each scientific group will present their findings to a committee made up of college and high school faculty, experts and parents.

Glow For It!
Project Director: Kari Debbink
Hermosa Montessori Charter School
Tucson, Arizona
520/749-5518
karidebbink@hotmail.com

The "Glow For It" project will allow students to investigate the science of photoluminescence through various activities integrated into the curriculum during the entire school year. Students will participate in several experiments, activities, and lessons to learn about photoluminescence in living organisms such as insects, bacteria, and jellyfish, and non-living objects such as rocks, laundry detergent, and glow sticks. Through their reading and research, students will learn the chemistry and physics behind the phenomenon of glowing and be able to participate in discussions, debates, and writing assignments about current uses for photo luminescent materials.

Study of the Dynamics of Mixing in a Coral Reef Lagoon
Project Director: Dr. Julio De Jesus
Staff: Gabriel De Jesus Rivera, Yomarie Bernier
College Radians
Cayey, Puerto Rico
787/738-4822
gabriel2006dejesus@yahoo.com

The purpose of my project is to study weather mixing is occurring in a coral reef lagoon and describe its dynamics. Previous studies involving fishes indicated an increased activity and diversity during the night, which suggest an elevated productivity. This study pretends to determine if the above behavior is due to changes in water properties related to mixing. Water samples will be collected at different time periods and localities within the lagoon. They will be analyzed for physical, biological and chemical parameters.

Exploring the Environment of the Fells Reservation Through the Eyes of New England Writers
Project Director: Marebeth DiMare
Staff: Linda Pickering
McCall Middle School
Winchester, MA
781/721-0886
mdimare@winchester.k12.ma.us

Science and English will create an interdisciplinary unit using the Fells Reservation as the classroom. Students will collect fauna samples representing the Fibonacci number sequence 1,1,2,3,5,8,13. Students will write a poem, using the Fibonacci series as a rhyme pattern. They will include sensory detail and quantitative/qualitative observations in this first entry to their conservation and literacy portfolio. Students will read local folklore surrounding historic sites of the Fells, taking clay samples from the infamous tennis courts and water samples from the reservoir. The DPW will conduct a tour of the water treatment facility located on the reservation. After analysis of testing data, students will write a persuasive essay on the importance of preservation and conservation of local environments. Lastly, students, focusing on a landscape of interest, will create a visual representation, select a companion poem from the works of Thoreau or Frost, and display this work in the town gallery.

Habitats Are Alive!
Project Director: Gail Gretencort
Staff: Linda Rogers, David Hoffman, Mary Wiggins
Harbour Pointe Primary School
Mukilteo, Washington
425/493-0073
gretencort3@aol.com

Habitats Are Alive! is a multi-faceted program dedicated to integrating science into every aspect of the primary student's day. An integrated curriculum of music, art, writing, and research use science as the focal point. Using a variety of Northwest habitats, the students will collect hands-on experiences to begin research using field guides, to write poetry, paragraphs, and music, and to present their information orally to an audience.

Water: What You Can’t See Might Hurt You! (Water Quality Studies in Jackson, MS)
Project Director: Bryan Gueltig
Mississippi School for the Blind
Jackson, Mississippi
601/984-8200
bgueltig@mde.k12.ms.us

"This project will involve my students in an on-going study of the area of water-quality. It will involve them in actually taking water samples from various locations around our city (Jackson MS), testing them for impurities and otherwise that will generate data that can be used to evaluate the purity of our local water resources. They will learn both the research skills necessary to study water quality as well as learn to communicate and discuss their results with others (even community officials who make decisions regarding our water purification and protection). Peer teaching with younger students of our school will also be an extended goal."

The Night Sky
Project Director: Carol Holland
Bushnell-Prairie City Elementary
Bushnell, Illinois
309/722-9464
cholland@bushnell-pc.k12.il.us

Students will complete the study of a unit on the universe. A minimum of four evening sessions will be planned to allow students and their parents to participate in hands on sessions observing the night sky. The goals are: Students will learn to identify and analyze the phases of the moon, predict sky conditions needed to observe the moon, learn to identify constellations and how they relate to legends and mythology, and learn through observation about changes in the sky by season. As part of the instruction, a physics professor from Western Illinois University will provide an assembly for students to assist in explaining the importance of learning about astronomy, to help build motivation for student participation in projects related to the unit, and to introduce careers related to the unit of study. The professor will remain after school to provide staff development for interested staff members district wide to learn of projects to enhance the study and provide training as needed.

Native Americans: A Study of Geography
Project Director: Sara Kaleo
Oak Heights Elementary
Lynnwood, Washington
425/431-7744
sara.haas@gmail.com

In this 8-week unit, 3rd grade students will study the geography of the continental 48 states and how the flora, fauna, elevation, and weather impacted the lifestyles, dress, food resources, and mobility of Native American communities. The culminating event for the students will be a wall to wall transect line identifying and discussing Tribes from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The study will be an integrated unit of literacy, art, and geography.

Engineering Capstone Design – "Flight of the Hovercraft"
Project Director: Patrick Kaplo
Staff: Scott Sarsfield, DaveBouvier
Campbell High School
Litchfield, NH
603/546-0300
pkaplo@litchfieldsd.org

An exciting end-of-year capstone design and construction project in which students utilize skill sets developed throughout an existing pre-engineering course to design, build, test, and pilot a fully functional two-person hovercraft. Powered by a 25HP engine and using readily available basic concept plans, this unique, largely foam and fiberglass vehicle will travel over land, water, and snow by hovering about 6 inches above on a cushion of air. The presence of such an interesting vehicle on the school campus will serve as a powerful and persuasive motivator for the larger school community on many levels - one small step in addressing the "silent crisis" of drooping nationwide engineering enrollment.

Multidisciplinary Biofuels: Planting, Producing, Performing
Project Director: Mark Klawiter
Staff: Christina Charles, Steven Fietz
Deerfield High School
Deerfield, Wisconsin
608/764-5431
klawiterm@deerfield.k12.wi.us

The Deerfield High School Biodiesel Project will allow high school students to investigate methods of producing biodiesel fuel from locally grown soybeans. The project will be divided into three phases: the planting, tending, and harvesting of the soybean crop (agriculture/biology); the processing, purification and analysis of the fuel (chemistry); and the performance testing of the fuel in a diesel test engine (technology education). Students have been involved in this project from the planning and grant-writing phase, and it is anticipated that some of these students will develop research hypotheses related to the three phases of this multidisciplinary project. We are optimistic about the potential long-term sustainability of this project.

Tuning into the Unheard World of Infrasound
Project Director: Michael Lampert
West Salem High School
Salem, Oregon
503/399-5533
mlampert@aol.com

Elephants communicate across the African plains with it. Volcanoes, hurricanes, ocean waves and nuclear bombs silently emit it. The world is full of noise the human ear cannot hear. This project takes high school students on a journey beyond the audible range, into the deep, mysterious world of infrasonic physics. To bring the excitement of infrasound into the classroom, students will build their own infrasound detectors as they participate in a lesson on the physics of sound. They will install a detector on school grounds, record the signals present, analyze the spectrum and visit a working infrasound array at a local volcano.

Cultivating Scientific Literacy in Molecular Biology through Community Collaboration and Mendellian Modeling
Project Director: Michelina McDonald
P.K. Yonge, DRS
Gainesville, Florida
352/392-1554
mmacdonald@pky.ufl.edu

Through an intensive nine-week unit, our biology students will collaborate with professionals in molecular biology at the University of Florida as they engage in an in-depth study integrating current research topics in molecular biology, lectures from experts within the field, professional lab experiences, and an inquiry-based project modeling basic genetics. Students will use diverse texts; both traditional print and web resources, to build background knowledge in molecular biology to prepare for debates on current and future applications of biotechnology. Results of student inquiry projects will be presented to the community at the Annual Spring Arts’ festival.

The Invasive Species of Lake Brantley
Project Director: Matthew Masem III
Staff: Jessica Albertson, John Driscoll, Liz Herwig
Sweetwater Episcopal Academy
Longwood, Florida
407/862-1882
mmasem@sweetwaterepiscopal.org

Students at Sweetwater Episcopal Academy go canoeing all October long during their PE classes. During this time they will collect samples of invasive hydrilla aquatic weeds and apple snail eggs. They will plant the hydrilla in aquariums in the classroom and use both natural (grass carp) and man-made (herbicide) methods to kill the weeds. They'll observe the apple snail eggs hatch and see the feeding habits of the large apple snails. Tests will be digitally recorded and video files added to PowerPoint presentations students create.

Steeple "Run-off" Garden
Project Director: Maureen Nolan
Steeple Run Elementary School
Naperville, Illinois
630/717-7646
mnolan@naperville203.org

The purpose of this project is to allow my gifted 4th/ 5th grade students a chance to test their theories about long rooted plants improving water quality and controlling run-off control. Our school, built over a wetland, presently, pours rainwater from a downspout into a drainpipe. The drainpipe flows directly into a local river. My students study the importance of wetlands through the Jason Project's "Disappearing Wetlands;" they monitor a local stream, and have seen first hand outside our window the need for controlling run-off water. So a project attempting to protect the stream by building a rain garden was suggested by my students. They will measure the slope of the land, design and prepare the plot, select and plant grasses and forbs which can withstand flooding, thereby restoring a little slice of a former wetland. Finally, after keeping careful records, they will present their findings in the hopes that their small step to turn run-off to wetlands might be enlarged.

Restoration Ecology: Service Learning Science
Project Director: Keith Pollock
Staff: Kevin Evanco, Bill Kean, Dave Stephenson
Dane County Transition School
Madison, Wisconsin
608/250-5210
keith.Pollock@excite.com

This project will expand the DCTS students’ ability to learn ecology through hands-on science experimentation and service learning projects. This project would include a study of the Starkweather creek watershed, savanna restoration at Indian Mound Conservation Park and prairie restoration at Pheasant Branch Conservancy. The watershed project will include chemical water quality sampling, collection of macroinvertebrates, stream bank restoration, and stormwater education project. The savanna restoration will include determining the current plant composition and removing invasive plant species, then monitoring the biotic and abiotic changes in the savanna. The prairie restoration will allow students to learn botany through growing prairie forbs and grasses and use fire as a restoration process. Together these three projects will allow the students of DCTS the opportunity to learn and practice biology and chemistry addressing real world situations while giving back to their community.

The Relationship Between Solar Flare Activity and Global Warming
Project Director: Mark Rader
Notre Dame High School
Riverside, California
951/275-5896
markrader44@aol.com

Since 1966 a number of astronomers from across the world have, from time to time, reported signs of "outgassing" on the lunar surface, especially in the vicinity of lunar rilles and a number of well-known volcanic craters. Since almost all recent studies of the Moon suggest that it has been geologically "dead" for millions of years, evidence of outgassing, if confirmed, would effectively disprove that assertion. Students at Notre Dame High School are busily engaged in a search for evidence of "outgassing" on the lunar surface. Utilizing the school's 5-inch refractor and 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes and an array of CCD cameras, our students are conducting a system photographic survey of the Moon looking for visible signs of these rare events. The Toyota Tapestry mini-grant will enhance our survey by enabling us to purchase specialized computer software to improve the quality of our lunar images. In addition, the grant will allow us to purchase a hydrogen beta filter that will provide a narrower electromagnetic bandwidth for analysis, and focal reducer that will enable us to photograph a larger area of the Moon's surface to facilitate our analysis.

PSI—Pond Scene Investigation
Project Director: Sharon Smith
Staff: Lois Haueisen
Cumberland Elementary
West Lafayette, Indiana
765/464-3212
smiths@wl.k12.in.us

Our Pond Scene Investigation Project will allow our students to explore our nature center as they think like scientists while learning about wildlife native to our area. To discover who has been there students will read clues as they follow teacher made paths. The clues will help them gain knowledge to discover what wildlife had entered our nature center. Literacy and science will be integrated as students read the science information and complete journal entries. This project will be implemented at the beginning of the 2007-08 school year. Students will work in small groups as they work to solve the mystery of who has been there.

A Clean Way To Go
Project Director: Palma Smoot
Staff: Anne Rogers
W.C. Taylor Middle School
Warrenton, Virginia
540/347-6149
psmoot@fcps1.org

Students love to use technology, but do not choose it as a career. It is our goal to take a look at a real life problem, global warming, and transportation. Students will then investigate how alternate forms of energy might help the environment. Each group will build either a solar, hydrogen cell or a magnetic car. In doing this they will learn the technology behind the car as well as use experimental design. They will be asked to explain their vehicle’s output, attributes and problems to their classmates. As a class they will decide which type of car seems to be the most efficient and/or clean. At the end of the year, the students will present their cars at our school’s Academic Fair for the parents. As students try different gears, different strength magnets, solar panel angles, and numerous reasons their car "won’t go"

Operation Otter
Project Director: Sheryl Sotelo
Staff: Bill Noomah, Amy Budge, Carmen Field, Lee Post
McNeil Canyon Elementary
Homer, Alaska
907/235-8181
ssotelo@kpbsd.k12.ak.us

Students will become actively engaged in this science-themed literacy project as they work with scientists to uncover the cause of recent sea otter deaths in Kachemak Bay located in Homer, Alaska. Students will
attend a Sea Otter Awareness week in the fall of 2007 where they will meet and begin their work with the biologists researching this problem. Hopefully, answers to the otter mortality issue will be found! Also, the
students will become more aware of their community, stewardship, and the unique environment around them, while researchers and scientists will benefit from the energy, ideas, and information provided by the
students.

Removal of Invasive Fish Species and Reestablishment of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
Project Director: Mark Sunkel
Staff: Michael Mumma
Linganore High School
Frederick, Maryland
240/236-7801
mark.sunkel@fcps.org

Lake Linganore is located within the lower Monocacy River watershed in Frederick County, Maryland. The lake currently has an abundance of the invasive fish Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio), which have eradicated all submerged and most emergent aquatic vegetation in the lake. Students will assist the Lake Linganore Association with the removal of the carp by electrofishing methods conducted by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Students will transplant plants into small areas within the lake to serve as "founder" communities which will grow into larger plant beds over time. Students will also conduct water quality tests and sample fish communities within the lake.

Sustainable Science
Project Director: Mary Alice Trujillo
Santa Fe Girls’ School
Santa Fe, New Mexico
505/820-3188
santafegs@msn.com

Using eutectic salts and PCV pipes, students will design a system to capture and store solar energy to heat a greenhouse. Through experimentation with different sizes of pipe and several types of salts, students will collect data to determine the best combination of pipe and salts to heat the greenhouse. Their ultimate design will provide an alternative, efficient and aesthetic vehicle to collect, store and release solar energy.

How Does Beach Erosion Affect the Abiotic and Biotic Components of a Shoreline?
Project Director: Ian Turoff
Navarre High School
Navarre, Florida
850/936-6080
uf93@mchsi.com

The beaches of our area are prone to erosion. We are in a hurricane susceptible area, we have rip tides, and very fine sand. Our beach is our barrier island, which protects us from high surf and storm surge. All of these factors lead to the dilemma of beach erosion. The constant loss of our beach causes economic and environmental impacts. We live in a high tourist area and have many houses along the shoreline. This is the factor that most of the residents of our city worry about. My project will be to focus on the environmental changes that occur due to this erosion. Our local beach has just been renourished, which brought in about 100 feet of sand to add to the beach. For this project, the students will study how the abiotic and biotic factors change as the beach is eroded away. We will GPS points on the beach to measure erosion, test the water chemistry, and do biodiversity studies on the micro and macroinvertebrates.

Spanish Springs High School Environmental Wildfire Watershed and Habitat Native Plant Species Restoration Project
Project Director: Robert Uccelli
Staff: Logan Wood, Royce Prince
Spanish Springs High School
Sparks, Nevada
775/425-7733
buccelli@washoe.k12.nv.us

In recent years, our western states have been victim to widespread wild and man caused fires resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of acres of valuable watershed, topsoil, habitat, acreage, and species populations. Our students would like to better understand and help in the restoration of future afflicted areas. To assist in restoration of native successive plant species, our students would like to quantify the magnitude of resources needed. Here in northern Nevada, we have been particularly hard hit. Our loss is compounded by the fact that many of the climax desert species in our mid-latitude steppe environment are typically slow or precipitation dependant growth species; some seed cycles and ecosystem succession can take years under typical climatic cycles. To repair watershed, soil, and habitat damage to future burn potential areas, we propose to begin by measuring existing unaffected areas with Grant provided GIS software and GPS hardware to establish baseline biotic and abiotic references.

"LifeSaver Science"
Project Director: Monique Wallen
Sawgrass Elementary
Sunrise, Florida
754/322-8500
redeemed.2day@comcast.net

Comprehension and retention of complex science material while navigating through technical vocabulary is often overwhelming and challenging for many students. Students often react to these challenges by becoming disengaged from learning. "LifeSaver Science" throws students drowning in boredom and confusion essential life preservers that allow them to "float" to success. Life preservers thrown include: 1. explicit teaching of comprehension strategies for understanding expository text, 2. interactive, engaging hands-on lessons that allow for active participation, 3. assembly of personalized student made textbooks for each unit of study, and 4. usage of informative chapter books, biographies and fictional novels to further enhance the science curriculum. Students create data disks, accordion books, mini "match" books, resumes for famous scientists, flip-flop books, and mini-plays,etc. "LifeSaver Science" gives students the opportunity to experience first hand the novelties involved with scientific discovery while learning essential reading skills necessary for secondary school, college and beyond.

From Seed to Plant—Greenhouse Gardening
Project Director: Dawn Maria Watson
Staff: Nurgul Cooper, Coweeder Wilson
Alpha Montessori
Flint Michigan
810/239-4689
alphakids@aol.com

We plan to start with a field trip in the spring to a Local Greenhouse so children can see how plants are grown and cared for inside for selling them at the stores. We will prepare and setup indoor greenhouses for the children to begin planting, caring, and watching plants grow throughout the year. We aim to illustrate the process of plant growth through practical hands-on activities involving seeds and plants. We also wish to extend this to show the year round cycle and illustrate how plant are harvested and used outside the school with another filed trip in the fall to a local farm where they can see the plants harvested, and harvest their own. This will help young children understand basic life cycles, growth, and what plants need to live. It will also foster a sense of the importance and value of all life on earth and how it is connected.