NORMAL - Kingsley Junior High School sixth- and seventh-graders had some new teachers on Friday - eighth-grade junior scientists - as part of a first-time event designed in part to help boost scores on state achievement tests.

A gymnasium was filled with more than 100 earth science projects at the school's first Science Expo. Among the exhibit highlights were a volcano model, a chance to throw a simulated asteroid at the Earth and a free taste of cotton candy for knowing about clouds.

The sixth- and seventh-grade students toured all the exhibits and talked to the eighth-grade exhibitors, seeking the answers to their question sheets.

"It's a little like a scavenger hunt," explained science teacher Stacie Threfall.

The 300 eighth-graders concentrated on five topics: chemistry, astronomy, plate tectonics, rocks and minerals, weathering and erosion, and the atmosphere. They chose their own topics and questions for the hunt and created displays with the answers.

"It allowed the eighth-graders to have a leadership role," Threfall said.

Eighth-grader Quinn Biever's group look at destroying life on Earth for their project. His group let participants drop a rock into a plate of flour to see what would happen if an asteroid hit the Earth.

"We wanted to get something to draw people in," he said.

The expo may also have an impact on next year's scores on state-mandated achievement tests, Threfall said.

Seventh-graders in Normal-based Unit 5 traditionally haven't tested well on earth science questions because that curriculum isn't introduced until the eighth grade here, Threfall said.

The 2004 and 2005 Illinois Standards Achievement Test scores proved the trend teachers had suspected, she said.

Those results helped inspire the founding of the Science Expo, which was intended to offer sixth- and seventh-graders a fun way to ease into earth sciences.

Threfall said teachers will follow through and see if such efforts help students achieve more in science. Even if test scores don't change, those involved said it was worthwhile.

"The kids have taken a lot of pride in their projects," said eight-grade teacher Todd Lanning. He also noted that it is a chance for students across the grades to be involved in a project together.

"They seem to be getting a lot out of it," agreed Kathi Orr, a sixth-science grade teacher.

One of them was sixth-grader Jenna Ringer, who took an hourglass-shaped soda bottle contraption in hand to learn about tornadoes.

"It's my favorite," said Ringer, 12, of the whirlpool created as water drained through the mouth of one 2-liter bottle into the mouth of another. "I like hands-on things."

The "hands-on" exhibits were so popular, organizers are planning to encourage more interactive projects next year, Threfall said.