When it came time for Alex, a fifth grader from West Virginia, to come up with an idea for her science fair project she did what any smart person in this day and age would do – she used Google. Her focus was on sinkholes, and through her research she found about the National Corvette Museum’s sinkhole and was immediately intrigued.
“I think Corvettes look really cool. I like their design and that they are really fast,” said Alexis. “I also like the colors that are used and how the exhaust is together at the back. I like the sound of them when they are revved and driving fast.”
If this makes us smile, you can just imagine how proud her father, Seth, must be. Seth had actually reached out to NCM to find out if he had its permission to use its photos. Not only was NCM willing to give permission, it also asked that Seth to share the finished product with them so that they may in turn show Alexis’ work to fellow Corvette enthusiasts. See her explanation of the project below, alternatively you can hear and see the explanation in the video.
The board on the bottom portion of the aquarium has two small stilts on it to lift it off of the bottom. There were holes drilled in the board near where the cave would form, allowing the water to drain out of the cave so that it would not fill with water,” Alexis explained. “The bedrock and non-porous rock were Styrofoam blocks wrapped in duct tape. The part where the cave would form had plastic tubing in it to allow the water in it to dissolve the sugar cubes, which represented the limestone. The top board had a hole cut in it that would become the opening of the sinkhole. The pieces that were cut out were supported by a piece of plastic to hold them up until the cave formed, and it was time for the roof of the cave to collapse. This was done by pulling on a string that was tied to the support to act like it gave out, causing the roof to collapse and a sinkhole to form.”
We give two big thumbs up to Alexis’ creativity and delivery – great work.
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