At the Hebrew Academy Science Fair (left to right): Middle school science teacher Dr. Emily Buch; seventh graders Talia Dulberg, Benyamin Lichtenstein, Simon Ganeles, Ilan Small; and Science Fair judge Charlie Baumgartner.

The Bess & Paul Sigel Hebrew Academy Annual Science Fair never fails to capture the imagination of those on hand to witness the wonders concocted by the Bloomfield school’s students – and this year’s event was no different. Held earlier this month, the fair was under the tutelage of the Academy’s middle school science teacher, Dr. Emily Buch, and featured a slew of out-of-the-box inventions created by middle schoolers.  Some examples: teams of fifth graders designed “The Travel Board” that uses solar power and an auto-pilot system guided by GPS  to carry people from place to place without polluting our environment, as well as “The Weightless Backpack” that can generate helium, making its load weightless. Both inventions have been submitted to the National Science Teachers Association-Exploravision Competition for judging.
Not to be outdone, seventh graders created inventions that were judged by Charlie Baumgartner, vice president of the Connecticut Invention Convention, and Dr. Les Loew of West Hartford; eighth graders conducted experiments, the results of which were submitted to the Museum of Natural History’s Young Naturalists Awards Competition; and, of course, six graders engaged in the ever popular bridge building competition, in which teams of students build bridges with toothpicks, then slowly load them with buckets of sands to see which is the last left standing.
The Academy serves students from preschool through eighth grade.  For registration information call (860) 243-8333.