Curiosity and creativity were on display at Northwestern Lehigh's second annual science fair Feb. 7 in the high school cafeteria.

Some 24 youngsters, from kindergarten through eighth grade, set up and explained their projects displaying their understanding.

"The science fair was run by the Science National Honor Society to promote interest in science," said adviser Dave Moyer.

"The students served as the judges."

"The kindergarten through third grade did a demonstration," he continued. "[As] the purpose is trying to get these [youngsters] interested in science, they could do anything they wanted.

"Students in grades four through eight presented a typical research project."

For some students, preparing a science entry for the fair became a family project.

"My mom looked on line for science things and she found this," said first grader Molly Schlofer. referring to her project.

"I put M&M's in a microwave to see which one cracked first. The yellow ones seemed to have the most cracks."

Schlofer chose her project because it involved M&M's.

"I like M&M's," she explained.

Her older brother Noah Schlofer was awarded a first place ribbon for his project using hot dogs.

"I thought it was kind of cool to learn how mummies got mummified," he said. "[So] I put a beef and a chicken hot dog in six boxes of baking soda.

"Then I put them in my closet for 30 days because I thought they would rot more in a dark space."

The "mummified" hot dogs were appropriately displayed in narrow wooden boxes.

First grader Morgan DeLong said she enjoyed working with her family on creating a volcano.

"We put hot water and vinegar together and we made it red with Jell-O," she explained. "Then, we put the baking soda in.

"That's what makes the hot lava come out like a regular volcano. I like the part when it erupts."

"I asked her what she wanted to do and she said volcano," said her mother Amy DeLong. "We looked at different websites to find an idea and she really liked this one. She made the volcano out of papier-mâché."

As she explained and demonstrated her project on surface tension to Grace Schoeninger, Alexandria Ford said, "I wanted to do the science project because it's fun.

"Coloring the project was her favorite part."

Cora Gorman was excited to explain how she went about creating a lava lamp out of an empty soda bottle.

As she added the final ingredient, an Alka Seltzer, and the liquids started to fizzle, Gorman said she also "added sparkles and glitter."

"You could learn about new things that you never learned before," she said of the science fair.

Cidney Bachert headed the committee for the science fair.

"I really like the idea of the science fair. It's a good opportunity to get the elementary school kids and the middle school kids involved in science," she said. "I think some of the projects are very impressive. For example, I just listened to a presentation on bacteria and yogurt."

Bachert said participating in the science fair, "not only gets them involved with other kids their own age, but it teaches communication skills [and] that's a vital aspect of life."

Committee member and judge Brandon Segan couldn't agree more.

"It's a great opportunity to show what kids learned and also use public speaking," he said. "They're actually going through the process of what they learned."

Another judge, senior Caroline Christ said the science fair "was a way for [kids] to pick what they wanted to do and come up with their own idea. The level they were thinking at was very impressive."