George created a board game called "Race to Retirement" to teach about economics and family finances over a lifetime. Matthew explored Greek mythology and how it still influences modern culture and products. Walker studied archaeological sites like Stonehenge and the Terra-Cotta soldiers to better understand human behavior and ethics around disturbing ancient tombs. Matteo built models of cranes and rollers to demonstrate theories about how the Great Pyramids may have been constructed.
3. Economics
George B.
I was interested in the European Union
crisis, because it was in the news and
began to wonder; how do economies
work? What products do people produce
and who wants to buy them? I also
wanted to know how inflation happens?
4. I decided to make a
game that
symbolizes the life
span of a family’s
economy? I wanted
to get people
engaged in my
game, so I used my
classmates’
personalities to my
advantage. Race to
Retirement was, as
they say, “off and
running.”
6. Cultural Anthropology
Matthew B.
My recent travels to Europe and Greece
inspired me to explore Greece’s culture,
language, art, and how people live.
Anthropology comes from two Greek
words Antro and Logs. Those words mean
Human Thought.
7. My search began with a reflection
of my favorite places in
Greece, and how the Greek culture
is explained with their mythology. I
even wrote my own myth. I loved
showing people how Greeks
influenced our consumer products
today.
9. Archaeological Phenomena
Walker B.
Iwanted to study the scientific remains of
the past that reflect human behavior like
Stonehenge, The Pyramids and Macchu
Pichu. This lead to archaeologists like
Howard Carter and Heinrich Schliemann.
10. Themost interesting was the Terra-Cotta
soldiers found in China. They were buried
along with the emperor Ch’in Shin Huang
Ti who also started the Great Wall of
China. This led me to the question of
“ethics.” Should tombs be disturbed or
preserved and is this the right thing to do?
12. Engineering the Great Pyramid
Matteo C.
Our mystery theme in fourth grade Quest
was so interesting to me, that in fifth
grade I continued exploring historical
mysteries along with conspiracy theories.
How the Great Pyramids were built is
disputed by Egyptologists and no records
exist to tell their story.
13. Anexplanation of how this may have
happened was published by a civil
engineer named Dick Parry in Engineering
the Pyramids. I decided to build a series
of models to demonstrate some of these
ideas, including: primitive
cranes, rollers, and tree lifters.
15. Amelia Earhart and Flight
Cristina G.
How have aircraft design, aeronautic
theory and psychology changed
throughout the ages? Why do people
want to fly and how does it affect their
feelings and character. This led me to the
icon of flight in the USA, Amelia Earhart.
16. Iexplored the mystery of her last flight,
and how her childhood and personality
affected her career. I used her feelings
and attitudes to write a diary from her
perspective.
18. Graphic Design and
Animation
Eryk J.
In the beginning, my interest in doodling
and cartooning, and my combination of
multiple intelligences of mathematical
and visual/spacial smarts led me to a
study in design….
19. As a product, I practiced animation and
graphic design. Graphic design is used in
everything from clothes to logos to
skyscrapers. I made my own animations
titled Eryk I and Bird with a program called
Toonboom Studio and AnimationCreate
on the iPad.
20. What was so “great” about
Catherine the Great?
21. Female Monarchs
Emily M.
I became interested in Marie Antoinette after
reading a historical fiction diary about her.
Her famous comment, “Let them eat cake”
demonstrates how those in power can be
unaware of their subjects’ basic human
conditions. Others however, demonstrate
compassion like Catherine the Great, who
was praised for her generosity and humanity.
How Queens reign and maintain power is
fascinating.
22. Can you find her?
Icreated a matching game
using paintings, quotes and
summaries that would help
people to understand some of
the most famous queens.
24. Jazz
Meg C.
The first time I heard jazz on the radio, I fell
head over heels for it. It was so different
from classical pieces like Fur Elise. Being
able to play what you feel without
criticism appealed to me.
25. The roots of jazz were full of musical
surprises. When I heard a young
Canadian jazz singer who sounded just
like Ella Fitzgerald the “First Lady of Song,”
I had to find out more. I was lucky enough
to interview a jazz expert right here in
West Hartford. It opened up a whole new
level of understanding about Jazz.
27. Cosmology
Grace D.
Space and the end of the universe; I
couldn’t stop thinking about so many
questions. How could space possibly be
unlimited? Why can’t we see all eleven
dimensions. And why are there only
eleven?
28. Black holes seemed to “suck me in,” after
my first thoughts about them. So I
decided to make a model of one. It was
harder than I thought but simple too. It
was fun to show people how they work.
