Youth Center members participate in Science of Sports event

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  • By Youth Programs
Since January, four members of the Hanscom Youth Center -- Bain Kitchin, Patrick and Sam Baker and Tyler Lefebvre -- have been working hard on a science experiment in order to participate in the Science of Sports Science Fair.

With support from the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation and Raytheon, a series of events led the team to present and be judged on May 6, along with 22 other Boys and Girls Clubs from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

"This experience was designed to provide youth with an opportunity to explore and gain further interest in math and science," said Aleah Davis, Youth Programs assistant who helped the team throughout the process.

With guidance and support from Davis and two Raytheon volunteers, Pamela Winters and Charles Miller, the youth came up with an experiment that explored the impact that environmental conditions would have on a golf balls. Their goal was to determine which ball would travel the greatest distance at different temperatures

The team tested the balls when the weather was in the 50s, 60s and 70s. After pulling their data together, they determined that the golf ball's travel distance was not dependent on the weather temperature. They also looked at the different types of golf ball cores and the material the cover is made of to determine which material gave the golf ball greater distance.

Taking the experience another step further, the boys then compared prices to see which golf ball was most cost effective or if paying the extra was worth it.

After pulling all the information together and creating a display, the team headed to the stadium for the science fair.

As part of the event, the youth competed for first, second and third place and a chance to earn a scholarship. Three sets of judges came to their display to learn about the team's experiment.

"With each round of judges, the youth became more confident and each presentation was even better than the one before," said Davis. "They had done an amazing job."

The youth agreed.

"I thought the best part was having fun and showing our project to the judges," said Baker.

The top six presentations were then selected to be judged by Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and New England Patriots running back Danny Woodhead.

"The experience was fun and educational," said Kitchin, "but the best part was standing taller than Danny Woodhead."

While the youth did not make it to this round, they were still able to participate in a challenge activity, in which they had five minutes to create a device that would drop golf balls into various size tubes from 14 inches away. They won the challenge.

"Having the opportunity to watch the boys morph into scientists, even under pressure, was so awesome," said one of the parents, Jana Kitchin. "Watching them work together as a team for the five minute challenge and not only pulling through but winning was great! I am so proud of their hard work and it certainly paid off."

As a reward for winning the challenge, the teammates now have opportunity to attend Patriots training camp for the day.

"As a Youth Program assistant, I have the opportunity to watch these youth grow, develop and see them change," Davis said. "This experience went beyond anything that I could have expected. These youth that typically do not hang out with one another came together and lifted each other up. Their organizational skills improved, as well as their public speaking skills. Their confidence in themselves and each other was increased."

Davis believes it was these factors that lead them to win the challenge.

"It has been an honor working with these youth on this project and I cannot express enough how proud we all are of the hard work, dedication and determination of these wonderful young men," she said. "I look forward to next year."

The team's experiment is currently on display at the Youth Center.

Signups for next year's project will occur in December. For further information, call the Youth Center at 781-225-6043.