You've heard of soccer players signing autographs and posing for photos, but have you ever heard of a professional athlete competing in a middle school science fair?
That is precisely what occurred when St. Bonaventure middle school student Claire Peet from Orange County reached out to the LA Galaxy with an idea for her upcoming science fair. For her experiment, Peet wished to test the speed and force of impact of soccer balls filled with helium, air, argon, and nitrogen.
Enlisted in the project was midfielder Baggio Husidic, who was responsible for kicking the balls filled with the various gas. The soccer balls filled with nitrogen—and air— had the fastest speed while helium-filled balls caused the greatest force of impact. Argon-filled balls were the heaviest tested, but also recorded the slowest speed and the least force of impact.
Peet’s experiment won first prize at the St. Bonaventure school science fair and allowed her to compete in the Orange County Science and Engineering Fair.
Congrats, Claire!
