The Value of Battery Chemistry

Alyssa LOVES science projects and has done one the last few years even though they weren't required for her class/grade. This year, her class was required to do them. Alyssa chose the value of a battery (how long it lasts compared to how much it costs). But after she had done most of the actual experiment, she learned that its a fairly common project and doesn't do as well at district and higher levels sooooooo ... she wanted it to be more. She wanted to know WHY the batteries lasted longer ... thus the Value of Battery Chemistry. She and her dad worked hard on her project. He'd ask her questions and she'd research the answers. He'd ask her more questions and she'd write down more answers. He'd explain things to her and she'd explain them back to him and then write it down. She did a great job and determined that batteries with Zinc Magnesium Dioxide are the best value. She learned about what Zinc and Magnesium are (and some other chemicals), how a battery works, different types of batteries (primary vs secondary), and what types of batteries work well for high-drain devices and low-drain devices. She also learned why some batteries are expensive and why others are cheaper (based on the chemicals inside and how rare those chemicals are). I think she learned a TON ... I learned a lot just helping her proof all her info and watching her put together her board. ANYWAY ... here is a picture of her with her project.

AND ... drumroll ... her project earned her a 3rd place in 5th grade at her school. She was excited and we were pleased with her hard work. She received a big white third place ribbon that MADE her day!! Then the next day she found out that she gets to move onto the district level!! She came home from school, BURST through the front door screaming for me. She was so excited. She told everyone she talked. She could hardly wait for her dad to get home so she could tell him.

AND ... bigger drumroll ... tonight she went to the district science fair. There were 300 projects there tonight and 70 were chosen to move on to the Central Utah Science Fair at BYU in 3 weeks ... YEP!!! She was one of them!! She is TRULY on cloud nine!! SOOOOO EXCITED! I'm surprised she fell asleep tonight. We are very proud of her (even if we aren't looking forward to another 5-6 hours of hanging out at a science fair). She is a very smart little girl and very determined. She LOVES to learn and when she chooses she can do amazing things. She was awarded a medal (although it is backwards in the picture below) and a certificate tonight. This is a close up pic I cropped of her on-stage. Its not the best quality pic, but she was BURSTING with excitement up on stage.
The award didn't have their names on them, so I added it to hers so she'll always have it. :)
Her project was assigned a spot on a table between two other kids from her school, a brother and sister who live in our neighborhood. She had fun during the judging time hanging out and playing around with the two kids (they were required to be at their projects for 90 minutes while the judges wandered around and interviewd the kids - parents were not allowed to be there). When the awards were announced her name was called between the names of the two other kids so they also got to stand on stage together. The icing on the cake for our social Alyssa!

Way to go Alyssa!! We are so proud!