24 The Winning Team

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR The Winning Team Results (noun). The detailed report of your data in a science experiment or inquiry. It might agree with or contradict your hypothesis. That's because in science it's okay to have a wrong hypothesis. Evidence always wins. "WE ARE SO HAPPY to announce the winners of our fifth grade science competition during our first annual STEM Night," said Ms. Daly. She stood up onstage in the multipurpose room. In my chair, my legs shook. I'm sure every molecule in my body was shaking, too. Next to me, Birdie bit her lip. Ms. Daly glanced at the judges who were sitting on seats up onstage. Dr. Caroline sat in between Mrs. Que and Mrs. Eberlin. Up onstage earlier, Dr. Caroline had already done a whole bunch of demos and they all were awesome. In one of them, she showed how static electricity worked by putting her hands on a silver globe called a Van de Graaff generator. Dr. Caroline's long dark hair was shocked into the air in a way that made it look like she had antenna on her head. In another one, a

solution she had created went back and forth between blue and yellow. It was all awesome, and now the announcement part of the evening was happening. It was exciting, but also nerve-wracking. "I speak for the entire faculty and staff," continued Ms. Daly, "when I say that we're so proud of our fifth graders. You have stepped up and shown us your hard work. You've asked wonderful questions. Created hypotheses for your experiments and worked hard to create your projects from scratch. You've let nothing get in your way." That's when Birdie looked at me. And I looked at her. Because that part was true. The only thing that was going to get past us would be subatomic. "What impressed the judges is how unique all of the projects were, which reflects the diversity and interests of our awesome students here at Rosalind Franklin Elementary. Honestly, you kids made this really hard on the judges. It was a very difficult decision. You will notice that on all of your projects, we have placed yellow ribbons. These participation ribbons let each and every one of you know how awesome you are

and how great all of your projects were." "I want a ribbon," Liam said in the chair next to me. "You'll get one," I answered. "When you're a fifth grader," said Birdie. He slapped his forehead. "That's in ten hundred years." "Okay, we're going to hand the mic back over to Dr. Caroline now," said Ms. Daly. Everyone craned their heads forward. There were hundreds of people in the room, but it was silent as Dr. Caroline hopped out of her seat. "Hi, everyone!" said Dr. Caroline, waving. Liam waved back. "I think she saw me!" "Okay, it's time to announce our winners," said Dr. Caroline. "I know, like me, you're very eager. But first I want to say that all of you in this room can be scientists." Squinting her eyes, she peered around the packed room. Liam tapped his chest. "Me?" "Yes, you," I said, and Liam cheered along with the rest of the crowd. "All of you can grow up to help make the world a better place," continued Dr. Caroline. "I want to make it better," Liam admitted.

"Me too," I breathed. Because that was what it was really about. I wanted to use science to help people and our planet. "And I was impressed with every single project I saw here tonight." Dr. Caroline looked down at her clipboard. "But the winners didn't just have fantastic projects, they also understood the science behind their projects and were able to explain it to me perfectly. So, the third place winner is... Avery Cooper!" Avery jumped out of her chair and raced to the microphone. Dr. Caroline handed her a trophy and an envelope. "Avery's experiment was called Mind Your Beeswax and it was about the science of lip gloss." Dr. Caroline handed the microphone to Avery and she explained a little bit about her project. "And what will you do for the school community with the prize money?" asked Dr. Caroline. "I'm going to buy curtains for our theater," said Avery. "My dads can get us a discount." Everyone applauded. Okay, only two more opportunities to place. I squeezed my knees together and crossed my fingers. I couldn't look up.

Dr. Caroline smiled so her whole face lit up. "The second place winner is Memito Alvarez for his project Tasty Leather, the science of fruit dehydration." A cheer went up and I could hear Memito's brothers whistling. Memito jogged up to the podium. Then he bowed as he accepted his trophy and his check. "I'd like to thank the Academy for nominating me for best actor," he joked. Birdie and I cracked up. Elijah called out, "Best actor in a cooking show!" "It's funny you should say that," said Memito, pointing at Elijah. "'Cause I'm going to use my prize money to start a cooking club." Dr. Caroline clapped. "I'm going to have to come back and test out some recipes." Memito made his way back to his seat with lots of people shaking his hand and slapping his back. Dr. Caroline said, "It's time to announce first place." My stomach felt hot, like something was starting to boil inside. "We have a tie for first place," said Dr. Caroline with a huge grin. "Two scientists who embodied the principles of teamwork and support. The winners are Kate Crawford and Brinda 'Birdie' Bhatt. Kate's project, a Rube Goldberg machine called Lemon

Power, included multiple scientific principles and, after many moving parts, ended with a calculator being turned on. Birdie's project was Color Sleuthing, which looked at the wonder of ink chromatography." The audience cheered and thundered their applause. Birdie and I locked eyes before launching ourselves out of our seats for a big hug. I was glad for all that chemistry taking place to power our muscles. "They won not just for their projects," continued Dr. Caroline, "which were awesome, by the way, but because the two of them used what they knew about science and applied it to everyday life, and they helped each other make their projects better." As we walked up to the front, I knew there was a tiny part of me that didn't like sharing first place. But if I had to share it with anyone, it would be with my best friend Birdie. After we both got to share a little bit more about our projects, Dr. Caroline asked what we would do with our money. "I would like to make a mural on the brick wall facing the playground," said Birdie. "And I'll need lots of helpers." I could hear Liam's voice cheering—mine too.