The science fair was very exciting. Leah showed up an hour and a half late, leaving me to man the station the entire time. Then, finally, she shows up with a laptop. The laptop was there so we could show the science fair visitors and the judges a live elecam. The elecam is exactly what it sounds like, a camera filming live elephants in the elephant sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. We tried to get the elecam up and running, but it needed internet connection. Darn wifi!

So while we didn’t get the laptop working, we still had a great time. All kinds of people came to see our project, big, small, old, young, grandpas, grandmas, parents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, etc.  At first glance our project was not too good looking. But we both gave outstanding presentations to the guests and I loved seeing their bored faces open up into grins as our presentation went on. A common reaction was something like: “Wow! There really is a difference between Asian and African elephants!” or “Huh, you would’ve never known!”

They were also holding a bake sale outside of the gymnasium (where the science fair was being held) and I went on over with the three bucks my mom gave me and my free lunch ticket that all the science fair presenters received too. They had all kinds of cupcakes, cake pops, and cookies. They also had pizza for lunch, so I got a giant slice and used my free lunch ticket. As I left the room, I eyed the desserts, trying to decide which cupcake to get. When I got back to the gymnasium, there was Leah and two adults holding clipboards, probably the judges. I snuck past Leah and behind our project and stuffed my face with pizza. Then I wiped my hands and face the best I could and stood out by Leah as she was just finishing up presenting to the judges. She’s doing pretty good, I thought as I watched the judges congratulate her on the awesome presentation.

Though we didn’t win, I was so happy we got to go in the first place. I loved every minute of it and we even got an award for Outstanding Presenters.

F.Y.I.

The elephant, is the largest land mammal on Earth. There is actually two different types of elephants, not just one. Asian elephants are smaller than their larger relatives, the African elephant. An easy way to tell the two apart is by looking at their ears. African elephant ears are larger and shaped like Africa, while Asian elephant ears are a whole lot smaller and not shaped like any particular continent.