Science Fair

I think Drew was excited about the science fair as soon as it was announced.  And he knew what he wanted to do from the get-go.  He wanted something with batteries, and the idea evolved into making his own simple motor.  Boy, did that Drew work his little heart out on that project.  They made 4 or 5 models before there was any success.  There was not one bit of procrastination on that project, yet still it was two days before the fair that the project finally worked!  Hannah has been sleeping in Drew's room for the last couple weeks, and you could tell this science project was taking a toll on her.  Extra cranky outbursts during the day....etc.  I give total credit for the outbursts to her lack of sleep and many late nights due to this science project thing.  We joked a lot about it and made lots of reference back to the movie "Meet the Robinson's"......"that's what you get when you have a science geek for a roommate."  :)

The final project was awesome and they fixed it up just right so it would be easy to run at school.

Drew could not wait.

 I helped him take the project into school, I love taking my kids to school--those little moments of extra time with those big kids is one of my favorite things, as simple as that is.  

There were tons of "ooohs" and "aaahhhs" as we walked the halls.  I heard one boy behind me, "That is awesome!  I don't know what it is, but it's awesome!!!"

I'm pretty sure Drew was just beaming.

 He worked hard on his poster, he made sure he explained how it worked well enough that people with simple brains, such as myself, could understand it all.  :)  (I'm kind of embarrassed to admit....but I sure learned a lot during the course of this project).

 There was only one unfortunate event.  Drew had the chance to show his classmates how everything worked before the fair, then he went to lunch.  Some kid decided to mess around with his project and he drained all the battery while Drew was out to lunch.  

Poor Drew was pretty bummed.  By the time the science fair started, his project didn't work at all.

So when I saw him at the science fair, he looked at me and I could tell he was trying not to let those disappointed emotions surface.  I wanted so bad to sprout wings or something and get him a new battery!  By the time I could get somewhere and back there would be about 10 minutes left.  I also wanted Jed to come super quick to see if he could remedy the situation somehow.  Drew's awesome dad took off an hour or so off work so he could come see him--and he did help remedy the situation by putting both his batteries together to come up with just enough power to make it work to some extent. 

All in all, it was a good experience.  A lesson in perseverence, in hard work, in trying to make the most of a disappointing situation, and a lesson in guarding and protecting your hard work!

Drew's grandparents popped in to support him too.   What a lucky guy to have so many people support him!

The experimenting has continued even though the fair is over.  He has had fun seeing what else this little motor of his can run.  

Good work Drew!!