She looked at traditional backpacks with straps worn tightly, loosely or over one shoulder; side bags; and a high-riding camping backpack. Research and measurements used Haley's girl scout troop as testing subjects.

"I wanted to know how it affects your posture," she said as she posed for pictures in front of her project after winning.

Haley said she was expecting the regular backpack to be the best for posture, and was surprised to find the high camping backpack with tightly worn straps was actually the best.

She said she had enjoyed doing the project because it was fun and it gave her the opportunity to learn something.

Debbie Lohman, Haley's teacher at Miller Avenue, said she wasn't surprised she won the competition in her grade. Haley is methodical, careful and systematic, she said.

"I've seen lots of excellent science fair projects in my time, but this is a really excellent project -- one I hope will help kids at our school," she said.

Principal Louis Parrinello said the school will definitely see how they can share Haley's research with the rest of the school. A banner announcing her win will be displayed in the school gym, he said.

Other projects entered at the science fair included traditional ones, such as growing salt or sugar crystals, or figuring out whether bananas brown more quickly in a paper or plastic bag, sunlight or refrigerator. But there were also some unique ideas, such how well a goldfish can remember things, whether the sun's energy can cook a dog, how color affects taste and whether temperature affects the air pressure inside a basketball.

Each entry was judged on how thoroughly it presented its research question and hypothesis, trials performed, data collected and conclusion. The judges, who were Brookhaven scientists and local teachers, also looked at the organization of the project and the originality of it's research question.

A number of SunLand students also came home from the fair with honorable mentions. One was kindergartner Anthony Dimeck from Longwood School District's West Middle Island Elementary, with the entry "What color birdseed do birds like best?" comparing undyed birdseed with birdseed that had been dyed red and green.

He said he got the idea for the project from his older brother, and he got a result he didn't expect.

"They liked green best because there is more green in nature," he concluded. He said winning the honorable mention makes him want to be a "scientist that does experiments" when he is older.

Other runners up hailing from the Longwood School District were Andrew Pallino with "Lego Quake," Brendan Allen with "The Amazing Evaporation Race," Gianna Lepert with "Do bicycle helmets protect your head?" and Cheyenne Spillett with "Bacteria Growth Project."

Note on Cheyenne's project: steering wheels and dog tongues are places that host the most bacteria in the average household.

And James Sottilo of the Miller Place District's Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School also earned an honorable mention with his project "Does Soil Matter?," which looked into the best type soil to grow grass in.

asnyder@northshoresun.com

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