Flour Bluff Intermediate 6th grader, Taylor Blades, will compete at the statewide Exxon Mobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair in San Antonio on March 23. Taylor advanced to the state competition after placing second in the Junior Division for Physical Energy at the Coastal Bend Regional Science Fair.
Taylor developed the idea for her project, “Whatever Floats Your House”, after seeing first-hand the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey. She said she noticed how many homes were flooded and had extensive damage and wanted to help people by testing how to flood-proof a house. “I researched different ways people are trying to make houses flood proof and found two major ways,” Taylor added.
Through her research, she decided to test two different ways to flood-proof a house, aqua dam and floating concrete. She set out to determine which of the two methods worked best by using materials similar to the actual materials used in both methods. She also tested her house models in different water types.
Taylor had this to say about her test results, “I found that the type of water didn’t affect the model but the aqua dam model did not hold as good a protection but the floating concrete did.”
Taylor says she is a little nervous to compete at the state level but is also excited she has advanced this far in the competition.
The Exxon Mobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair is the state’s annual science competition for grades 6-12. Students from 13 Texas Regional Science and Engineering Fairs and over 1,000 projects will be part of this year’s competition.