Elementary school students try to break world record

Dozens of students at St. Martin School attempted Friday to put themselves into the Guinness Book of World Records, using science as their tool.

The students, along with children in 130 schools across Canada, conducted a pair of experiments surrounding the Bernoulli principle, an 18th-century theory that says as a liquid's speed increases, pressure decreases.

"It was a pretty cool way to learn science," said Haleigh Beaucage, an 11-year-old Grade 6 student at the south-side school.

"I think it was very fun, even if we don?t get into the Guinness Book of World Records," she said. "I just think science is cool, pretty much.?

Classmate Ben Furtado couldn't agree more.

"I think it?s pretty cool because you're thinking that thousands of kids across Canada are doing this exact thing at one o'clock and we?re participating and can be in the Guinness Book of World Records," Ben said.

The experiment also gives the 11-year-old a chance to teach his dad at home.

"My father is a science teacher and he shows me lots of things, and he's never showed me that before. So I can go home and show him that and he can maybe tell that to his students."

Haleigh said she actually learned something from the pair of experiments.
 
"I didn't know about air pressure and when you blow between two balloons it would weaken the air pressure, so the air pressure would push the two balloons together. I had no idea that's why it happened."

Lakehead University student Zack White is St. Martin's engineer-in-residence and helped orchestrated the world-record effort.

The second experiment saw students use perpendicular straws, one submersed in a cup of water, to create a mist.

"We had to videotape it and have stopwatches and all kinds of things to make it official for Guinness," White said of the initiative, which was promoted by the government of Canada."

The idea is to make science and math a little more exciting for students.

"Overall there have been studies that have been showing that the amount of people in technical fields, such as engineering and math and science fields has been on the decline compared to other countries in the world," White said. "They're trying to promote at the grassroots science and technology and inspire some minds that are young and at a malleable age."

Grade 6 teacher Sean Van Hatten called it a fantastic idea, saying it fits in perfectly with his classroom curriculum.

"We're talking about Earth and space right now and we?re also talking about the properties of air later on in the year. So it was a great opportunity for students to see how air pressure creates space, creates mass and it definitely touches on Bernoulli's principle, so they got to see that in action."

Guinness will have to certify the record before students at St. Martin School can officially claim the title.