Anna Garland’s parents drink coffee in the morning.
This fact, along with seventh-grader Garland’s curiosity about high blood pressure, became the basis for her science project, displayed at the Robinson Barracks Elementary/ Middle School Science Symposium Nov. 20.
The event, held in the school’s gym, highlighted middle school students’ science projects, which were inspected and evaluated by 25 judges from within U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart. Category and overall winners received ribbons and certificates.
For her project, Garland took of the blood pressure of several adults before and after they drank coffee.
“I wanted to know what high blood pressure was, and now I know,” Garland said. “I used my parents as guinea pigs for a month and measured their blood pressure after each cup of coffee.”
Her conclusion? “Better not drink any if you have high blood pressure,” Garland said.
In all, 136 projects were displayed. Tyler Trahan, an eighth-grader, won the grand prize with her presentation on the effectiveness of toothpaste. Other topics included the science of windmills, the effectiveness of natural herbicides and how to produce wind energy.
“This is a project based on authentic learning experience,” said Kathleen Tierney, RBEMS science teacher. “There were many fine projects. I cannot emphasize that enough.”
