Well, here's the story behind the project: it was pretty much never-ending. Until it ended last night. Hah.
He started the project in January, but then his teachers just kept sending home more and more information about it and more and more parts to the project. It's like they didn't want to scare us all up front, so they doled out bits and pieces. It was awful. (And for the record, I am not the only parent who feels this way. I spoke to several last night with the same feelings! Gar!) And then the science fair night was snowed out - which was okay because that was the week I was sick - so it didn't really finish until last night. It was like 2 months of project. Yeargh.
This wasn't just a science fair project - it had to be based on a consumer good, testing two competing brands. (Generally generic vs. brand name.) This was actually kind of cool, at least to the parents. I talked Spencer into testing OxiClean vs. ALL Laundry Booster because laundry is near and dear to my heart, in that I do it so often that I fully expect my heart to give out some day while I am doing laundry. Stupid laundry. (Talk about a never-ending project!)
So here's a brief run-down of the project. It was totally scientific method-y and all that, but I'm not going to go into all the nitty-gritty details because that's boring.
We found two old shirts in the back of Cole and Josh's closet. I felt fine using them because those punks never wore them. We cut them up and put little notches in the fabric so we could tell which group each piece belonged to.
Then we scientifically painted them with ketchup because Spencer was a wimp and wasn't willing to bleed on the shirts. (Just kidding.) ((Kind of.))
And then the shirts were allowed to dry in the garage for several days. It made the garage smell like ketchup, which was kinda gross but also made me want to eat hot dogs and french fries.
Then we scientifically soaked the fabric in the detergents. We even measured the water exactly and made sure it was the same temp. Science!
These are my laundry soakin' buckets. They also because our sick buckets the next month. Fortunately, buckets are very easy to clean and disinfect.
Stirring the fabric. This was the ALL detergent.
This was the OxiClean; a lot more bubbly.
Then they soaked for several hours. Then we scientifically washed them in the washing machine, dried them, and compared the results. In the end, Spencer decided the ALL actually worked better. I personally think they were pretty much the same, but whatever. ALL is cheaper, so that's good, but I usually buy my OxiClean in bulk at Sam's Club, and until they start selling ALL there I will probably keep paying a little more so I don't have to buy it all the time. Also, they mostly removed the stains, but for each brand there was still a slight orange tint and a few spots. So they did a pretty great job, all things considered, but the shirts were still very slightly stained. Certainly not as good as new.
Then it was time to make the board. This is where I become a stickler. In the past Spencer has given me all sorts of fits for projects like this. He was perfectly fine playing fast and loose with layout. Fortunately, he has seen the light (and been indoctrinated by his mother) and now wants his projects to at least look nice. So we did a practice layout ahead of time and then I had him type everything into the computer and then helped him format everything. Great discussions about font usage and consistency were had.
Okay, so this project was weird in that it also involved making a print ad and a commercial for the product that "won". He did this for his English class, which makes a little more sense than doing it for English. But still. Kinda weird.
For those not in the know, I was in advertising before I had kids. My degree was in advertising. I *heart* good advertising. IT WAS SO FREAKING HARD NOT TO TAKE OVER AND DO EVERYTHING MYSELF FOR THIS DANG ADVERTISING PROJECT!!!!! Seriously. Sometimes the hardest part of motherhood is to stand back and not interfere. Spencer came up with the idea, the copy, and most of the layout. (I made him look through magazines and choose some of his favorite ads, and then told him to use those for inspiration.) I helped with the Photoshop, but made Spencer do quite a bit of it. I think he now has a basic grasp of the software, which is awesome.
Then I got to star in the ad with Cole, because I have that motherly look about me! Oh man. So much bribery to get Cole to do this for us. And SO MANY pictures taken to get just the right one.
And then we made a commercial. Tess LURVED being a star! Lance lurved being the announcer. I lurved finishing the dang thing.
We finally had the science fair last night. The teachers were brilliant in that they had a ticket drawing for a gift certificate for a local restaurant. You earned tickets by going around to the different projects and asking questions of the kids. The teachers were less brilliant because the event started at 5:30. By the end all the little kids there (including our own) were melting down because they were hungry and tired. (In the teachers' defense, I think that was pretty much the only time they could reschedule the event.)
The laundry scientist. He's now too cool to smile for pictures. What a lovely age.
And the finished board.
Overall, I guess it wasn't THAT bad.
Wait, yes it was. Because school projects always come at the busiest, most awful times. I'm just blocking those memories out.
Oh well, Spencer did a great job and earned an A. (I think moms should get graded, too. A+ for me!)
