Cherry Avenue Elementary Student Wins First Place in Brookhaven National Lab Science Fair

 By Elizabeth Denton

Distance Learning this past spring did not stop Cherry Avenue’s Annual Science Fair. Student’s dropped off their projects to be judged by teacher volunteers. Reilly Riviello, from Mrs. Denton’s Fifth grade departmentalized science class, took First Place for the grade level. Her winning project was then submitted to represent Sayville School District’s Cherry Avenue School at the first-ever virtual version of the annual BNL Elementary School Science Fair sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. Students in kindergarten to grade 6 entered science and engineering projects for the competition. They represented 38 elementary schools across Suffolk County, New York. 

Reilly’s project, titled "What Material is the Best to Protect Your Property from Flash Flooding", took top honors. Reilly chose her topic because “climate change has created more flash floods and storm surges than ever before. This results in billions and billions of dollar’s worth of damage. The objective [of my experiment] was to determine what materials work best in ‘sandbags’ to prevent property damage.” Reilly researched her topic and completed multiple trials comparing water leakage, at different intervals, when sand bags are filled with sand, gravel, mulch or dirt. Reilly hypothesized, based on her research, that sand would be the most effective material to use because “the sand particles are packed tighter and closer together.” In conclusion, Reilly determined that “Sand was the best defensive barrier for protecting your property the best from flash floods. All of my research and experimental data support that sand is the best material to protect your property from flash floods.” 

Mrs. Denton stated “Reilly’s First PLace win is well-deserved, and I am so proud of her! Throughout the entire process, Reilly was enthusiastic about her topic and her project. She was diligent, thorough, responsible, and most importantly, excited throughout the three-month process. I am so thrilled that her project was able to be submitted virtually to BNL after all of her hard work and dedication. Congratulations, Reilly!”