A whirlwind of excitement

Deirdre Newman

A tornado sparked a connection between Brenda Valle and her father

at Wilson Elementary School on Wednesday night.

Kelly Woods, an Orange Coast College student preparing to become a

teacher, created the tornado. It didn’t take much -- just two large

soda bottles connected at their necks with duct tape. When the

bottles are twirled and then held vertically, a liquid funnel cloud

forms near where the bottles are connected.

When Woods, 19, displayed her experiment at Wilson’s science fair,

it created a frenetic flurry of excitement, drawing in everyone in

its path.

When Brenda shook the bottles and watched the tornado form, her

eyes lighted up in awe. Then she passed the tornado-in-a-bottle to

her father, Enrique, who was also enthralled by the experiment.

“It’s fun,” Enrique said. “It looks like a tornado at the beach.”

The science fair allows parents and students to share in the joy

of discovery and gives the college students a chance to witness the

reaction to their experiments.

“I see the excitement on their faces, and it’s so rewarding,” said

Megan Pontius, 20.

Pontius and fellow student Tracy Nguyen, 19, used a slinky and a

jump rope to demonstrate different kinds of earthquake waves.

Shaking the slinky produced p-waves, which are the first waves

produced by a temblor. Shaking the jump rope produced s-waves, which

follow.

In another section of the multipurpose room, one of the most

visceral experiments enticed students with its tasty treats.

They got to choose from a variety of delectable candy based on

their interest, and then Siana Harrigan, 20, put the corresponding

rock in their hand. With their eyes closed, based on the texture of

the candy, the students guessed the type of rock.

“It’s cool,” said fifth-grader Mario Dearcos, 10. “When I tasted

the candy, it felt like the rock.”

Harrigan said she participated in the fair for two reasons: “I

think it’s kind of interesting to help kids eager to learn, and

giving back to my community is really important to me.”

After creating tornadoes, identifying rocks and engaging in myriad

other experiments, the students agreed that the science fair was a

success.

“It’s fun because you get to see a lot of cool things,” said

fifth-grader Leonel Barrera, 10.

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot

education writer Deirdre Newman visits a campus in the Newport-Mesa

area and writes about her experience.