Elementary School Student Builds Levitating Water Fountain

Science Buddies helped this fifth grade student find the perfect match for his curiosity, and it changed how he sees science.

A Physics Project for the School Science Fair

School science fairs give students a chance to delve deeply into a project of interest and then share the project with others, explaining the procedure they followed, what they expected to happen, how things went, what they learned, and what they might do next if they continued their project.

Finding a Project of Interest

The science fair is an important annual event at Max's school, Waimea Country School in Kamuela, Hawaii. All students in grades 4 and 5 participate by doing independent science projects.

In the 4th grade, Max explored drone flight with a popsicle stick mini drone. For his 5th-grade project, he used the Topic Selection Wizard at Science Buddies and selected Build a Levitating Water Fountain with the Stroboscopic Effect, a physics project that creates a visual illusion of water falling upward. "I also considered a hoverboard project," says Max. "I decided on the Levitating Water Fountain because I watched the video, and I've always loved optical illusions. I thought this looked really cool."

Max was excited to see the visual illusion in action and curious to understand the science behind it. He learned how to create the stroboscopic effect that causes the water drops to appear to be falling upwards due to the frequency of the flashes of a strobe light. The biggest challenge? Testing it under the right conditions. "It was challenging to find a totally dark space, so we had to test it at night with all the lights off," Max explains.

Above: Max demonstrates his Popsicle Stick Mini Drone and Levitating Fountain projects at the school science fair.

Hands-on science projects like Max's don't just teach core STEM concepts. They also help students see themselves as future scientists or engineers. Although Max already enjoys math and science in school, this year's project helped him think about new possibilities. "I could see myself as an engineer," he says. "My science fair project made me more excited about all the cool stuff I can do in science."

Max's mother says she appreciates that the school encourages students to pursue their interests when choosing projects and uses Science Buddies to support that process. "The Topic Selection Wizard was a great way for Max to choose a project that sparked his interest. When Max is passionate about a topic, as a parent, there's no better thrill to witness."

See also Projects Give Students a Chance to See What It's Like to Be a Scientist about the value of science fairs in elementary school.

Thank you to Max and his family for sharing this story with Science Buddies. If you have a story about how Science Buddies makes a difference in your classroom or program, reach out to us at [email protected].