2nd Grade Projects

Pluto is the ninth and most distant known planet from the sun. Its surface consists largely of frozen nitrogen. It is thought to have a rocky, silicate core; its thin atmosphere probably contains nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane.

Nowhere is silver glitter mentioned in its description. This fact did not dissuade our daughter, Natalie, from enhancing her replica of Pluto. It needed some sparkle to make it look pretty.

All new parents stock up on diapers, but I say start a stash of Styrofoam balls. Styrofoam is crucial when it comes to science projects during the middle school years.

You don't want to be the poor parents whose son or daughter tells them a model of the solar system is due tomorrow. You likely will be left standing in an aisle at Jo-Ann's looking at the empty space where the Styrofoam balls were and only the egg shapes remain.

Paul D. Lawrence, 59, of Fresno recalls making a structure of atoms. "I believe it was in junior high," he says. "My father assisted by acquiring some Styrofoam balls. I colored them to represent protons, neutrons and electrons. The various subatomic particles were connected by wire cut from clothes hangers. By high school, my interest in science had waned, so I looked for really simple and stupid projects."

Ah, yes, the atom. Natalie made one a few months ago. It required copper wire, three cans of spray paint, Styrofoam glue and assistance from our neighbor who knew his way around a soldering tool.

This is when I learned the lesson to always buy more balls than you think you'll need. Natalie is something of a perfectionist when it comes to these projects. She's all about quality control and will reject a Styrofoam ball if it's not painted to her liking.

No amount of cajoling -- "The teacher isn't going to care if it's not the same shade" -- will change her mind.

At moments like this, I picture her science teacher sitting at home in his Barcalounger, watching the Discovery Channel, while parents are driving around town looking for spray paint.

School projects aren't limited to middle school. Elementary school teachers are gaga about dioramas. Fortunately, all you need is a shoe box and a kid with a good imagination.

But things can get dicey when it comes to elementary school projects, as well. Sarah Anacleto of Visalia has vivid memories of her daughter's projects. You could label them "When Science Projects Go Wrong."

"When Julie was doing 2nd grade science projects, she had an assignment to collect a bunch of leaves from plants around the neighborhood," Anacleto says. "I don't know if there was poison oak or something, but she got some horrible rash from it." Wait. There's more.

"In 2nd grade science projects, she made a collage by gluing things to a giant piece of paper," she says. "Julie used rice to represent the ground, and a bunch of weevils got into it and were crawling all over the bottom part of the picture eating the rice."

And finally, there's this.

"In fourth grade science project, she did a science project where you put a balloon on top of a bottle on the stove, and when the air expands, it blows up the balloon. It worked fine on the stove at home, but at school they just had a hot plate, and it didn't work at all."

Maybe it just needed a little glitter.