Adelphi’s young scientists put theories to the test

May 26, 2015 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Yousef Hasan-Hafez made parachutes as part of his science project.

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Students from Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn put their scientific theories into practice for the Annual Schoolwide Science Fair earlier this month, eagerly sharing experiments and research projects with their classmates, teachers and parents.

The fair took place inside the John Lockwood Auditorium Theatre at Adelphi, located at 8515 Ridge Blvd. in Bay Ridge.

Sixth-grader Eric Furman and seventh-grader Alisher Khakimov chose to study video games for their projects. Eric studied whether playing video games had an effect on the brain’s ability to withstand pain, while Alisher studied whether gaming can become addictive. Eric’s classmate Yousef Hasan-Hafez created custom parachutes to determine whether the shape of a parachute affects its speed. Seventh-grader Sadrax Michel studied peripheral vision. Sixth-grader Isaac Beltre studied the effects of dry ice. Anthony Iglesias, an eighth-grader, studied the cooling effects of evaporation.

Third-grader Zoe Denmark’s project was titled “Algae – The Good, the Bad and the Sushi.” She tested whether algae could grow differently in different types of water. Her classmate Samantha DeBrusk studied the effects of peppermint and chocolate on people’s reaction time and shared her results with her grandfather, geologist Wayne DeBrusk, who attended the fair. Fourth-grader Hazel Budker conducted an experiment to determine whether white candles burned faster than colored candles.

Another highlight of the fair was a study of how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly done by pre-kindergarten children. Students Noelia Fabian, Leena Hasan-Hafez and Alesiandra Nikezi worked together on the nature-inspired project.

All the students presented their findings to science teacher Jeffrey Cavorley and a panel of judges.

“Students in grades Pre-K through 12 displayed and presented on a wide variety of scientific subjects, from the creation of balloon-powered cars to the manufacturing of bio diesel to citizen science projects, in which raw data from famous space telescopes was processed for the first time by students,” Cavorley said in a statement.

Awards for first, second and third place will be awarded to students in the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools at the academy’s Student Awards Banquet on June 3.

“The Annual Schoolwide Science Fair is an important event at Adelphi,” said Iphigenia Romanos, Adelphi’s head of school. “Students work on their projects for many hours, under the guidance of Mr. Cavorley, who encourages them to think outside of the box and ask interesting questions with their hypotheses.”