Science Project

I know -- I'm a living science project. But today we were focused on another project: #20 on my bucket list, which was "help my son create a winning science fair project."

He won second place for his project to determine "What Makes a Better Bat? Wood vs. Metal". It served a practical purpose, as he has outgrown the old bat from his tee ball days, and we were wondering whether to go wood or aluminum. It was a fun project, and my son worked very hard and learned a whole bunch of stuff about conducting an experiment. So we already declared him a "winner" before the judging got started. The fact that he brought home a trophy and a ribbon, too, made it extra nice. And being there at the school assembly when he accepted his award was one of those moments I was grateful to be able to experience. (But there's still a lot more on my list, so I still need to stay alive!)

It's good to get him interested in the scientific process. Maybe he'll grow up to discover a cure for cancer.

Or maybe he'll be a professional baseball player, if science fair projects have any predictive value. My elementary school science project was on the anatomy of the brain. The coolest thing about it was the pickled dog brain that my dad found for me to use in my exhibit. That planted the seed for my fascination with the brain and how it works. I later studied psychology in college. It wasn't the most marketable choice of major, but it was really interesting, and now it is unfortunately quite relevant for me to have learned some things about that part of the body.

I'm glad my son's interest was centered around something fun, like baseball.