You don’t need to be of elementary school age to ponder the mysteries of the Universe, such as, which type of gum keeps its flavor the longest: regular or sugar-free? You can still be an adult and enjoy the sensory experience of making a model of a volcano spill and fizz by dumping a packet of Pop Rocks into it. And as Rochester Memorial School students demonstrated the evening of June 6 during the annual science fair, even kids can come up with solutions to global warming.

Meet the RMS students who put their minds together in the name of science to seek the answers to some of life’s most phenomenal phenomena, like Brock, Andrew, and Zack, a trio of second-graders who set out to discover if the flavor lasts longer in sugarless gum or in regular gum.

“We asked second graders which flavor lasts the longest,” said Brock. Twenty-eight guessed regular, while 27 guessed sugar-free gum. “I was surprised,” Brock said when he found out that it was indeed sugarless gum that kept its flavor the longest.

Andrew thought it would be sugar-free, he chimed in, satisfied that his hypothesis was correct.

Just across the way, second grade student Madison Detrani was carefully pouring baking soda into the kortous (top) of a model volcano, and mixing vinegar with red dye and pouring it in. Next, she delighted in emptying a packet of cherry Pop Rocks into the mix to release a sizzling solution of fizzing lava down the sides of the volcano.

“It (the Pop Rocks) makes it have a bubbling sound,” Detrani said.

Strolling through the cafetorium, one passed an abundance of ‘sciency’ secrets solved, as well as how the groups came up with the conclusions to their provocative questions. Can eggs bounce? (Yes, gently). What solution is best for keeping an apple slice from turning brown? (Lemon juice).

Blake Gagne, second grade, took another approach to his science project, setting out to solve one of the world’s most pressing problems: saving the world from global warming.

Gagne explored the way animal flatulence creates methane gas that, in turn, contributes to climate change. He thought up a good way to effectively capture that methane gas before it escapes into the atmosphere. His preferred method was a “methane-capturing device” – a diaper, essentially, filled with coffee grounds.

Gagne displayed a photo of a cow wearing a crude form of a diaper, and he tested the method with his own dog, Chloe. He spent four hours observing his dog with her methane-capturing device tied around her bottom to capture her occasional bursts of methane. He not only tried filling it with coffee grounds, but he also tried charcoal, and found that both likely would do the job okay.

Chloe, Gagne said, was indeed very cooperative, and likely earned him a prize in the Science Fair.

“This is phenomenal,” said RMS Principal Derek Medeiros. “This is the epitome of hands-on learning. This is what kids can get passionate about … and it’s great.”

By Jean Perry

There has been some recent buzz on Facebook about possible bear sightings on North Street and River Road in Mattapoisett, but nothing yet has confirmed the presence of a bear in the area, at least according to Animal Control Officer Kathy Massey.

“I haven’t seen it,” said Massey on June 6. She suspects that residents might have possibly mistaken a large fisher cat for a bear. She recalled an incident in the past when she received a call about a bear up in a resident’s tree and arrived to find a fisher cat instead. “I could see how they would think that it was a bear. Some fisher cats get to a pretty good size.”

Carly Lavin of Mattapoisett was out for a walk with her two small children just before noon on May 31 when she spotted what she thinks was a black bear in the field on River Road by Riverside Drive.

“We might have disturbed a little nap he or she was taking in the field,” said Lavin. “It popped its head up … and then it turned and high-tailed it right to the forest.”

Lavin said she had never seen a bear in the wild in the past, and she had never seen a fisher cat, either. Looking at a photo of a fisher cat, she stated, “I’m pretty sure it was a bear … but it could be [a fisher cat]. We’ll be keeping an eye on things here.”

Back in July and August of 2011, a young black bear was spotted in several locations throughout Tri-Town and also in Plymouth, but he hasn’t turned up in the meantime. Massey said that during those months, she sometimes received a number of phone calls daily from nervous residents reporting bear sighting, but this month so far, she hasn’t received a single call.

“The last time we had a bear, I got calls up the wazoo,” said Massey. “The last time the bear was here, I got a call sometimes three or four times a day. I’ve got nothing this time….”

The lack of calls this time around leads Massey to question the validity of the bear sightings, leaning more towards a fisher cat with its long tail hidden from view.

Massey said in 2011 there was likely more than one bear, since she and an animal control officer from a neighboring town were both on the phone in separate locations reporting their own separate bear sightings to each other live.

“This week, I called Rochester to see if she’s gotten any calls,” said Massey. Nope, not yet….

At this time, Massey doesn’t want the public to panic at the thought of a bear roaming around the area. After all, the bear is much more afraid of you than you of it.

“Could it be here? Sure,” said Massey. “Is it here? I can’t say.”

If you ever see a bear on your property, keep calm and simply make a lot of noise to scare it off. They aren’t there for your chickens, Massey said, and they aren’t prone to “killing things.”

At this time, there is no definitive confirmation of the presence of a bear returning to Tri-Town but, in the meantime, keep your trash barrels secured, said Massey, because the area has a lot of other wild animals that could cause a lot more trouble than a lonely bear.

“I don’t understand the panic,” said Massey. There is no need to call 911. “If it’s trying to get in your house (which it won’t) then yeah, call me…. Just make a lot of noise. They’ll take off.”

By Jean Perry