04/08/10 Riverside Second-grader Julia Butler wants to know why that..... "When you look at the front of a spoon, why is your reflection upside down?"

PHOTO:

Second-grade Riverside School student Morgan Brog shows her classmates her science project, how to make rock candy, at the school's annual science fair, on Wednesday, April 7, 2010.

Riverside students put their own science questions to the test

Colin Gustafson

What household liquids are best for cleaning the tarnish off a copper penny?

Riverside School second-grader Sophie Dixon was surprised to learn that ketchup does a better job than most products. Other low-acid liquids like vinegar and pomegranate juice also do the trick, she found.

Dixon was one of more than 200 Riverside students to present their findings to parents, peers and teachers at the elementary school's sixth annual science fair, "Explorations in Science," on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Organized by the Riverside PTA, the science fair asked students to come up with their own questions -- not necessarily ones related to what they're studying in class -- and then use the scientific method to find an answer. Questions ran the gamut this year.....