Science fair offers prizes, knowledge, huge bubbles

Cole Book makes a bubble at the Putnam County Public Library while his brother Bryson Book and DePauw University student Byran Edwards watch. The science fair was Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. Banner Graphic/JOSH GARVEY

GREENCASTLE -- As a beautiful day went on around them, three DePauw University students and one Greencastle Middle School student played with a giant tub of soapy water making bubbles Saturday outside the Putnam County Public Library.

As a pair of young children came by they handed over the hoop used to make the bubbles, letting each of the children have a turn.

They weren't just idly killing time -- they were part of the Putnam County Public Library's annual science fair.

Bryan Edwards, a junior at DePauw, said community projects like Saturday's science fair help to foster a relationship between the university and the town around it.

He also said it was good practice for explaining and speaking about science to people.

"It also takes us out of our lab and gets us explaining science," Edwards said. "It's science at the most basic level, but it's still good practice in making science interesting to other people."

The library also held a science fiction trivia contest at the fair. Addison Hughes, Derrick Johnson, Lisa Lazar, Casey Campbell, David Mundy and Steve Overshiner all won prizes for correctly answering one of the trivia questions

In addition to the bubble display, there was a classic volcano demonstration, a water tornado in two taped two liter bottles and a glass bottle that sucked water into it using a candle and air pressure. There was also a robot sculpture made of duct tape.

As the event continued, fewer kids came to the fair, which was held in the basement of the library with the exception of the giant bubble display.