A Science Fair Winner

Kendall Stedman, a sixth grader at the Montauk School, won the Brookhaven National Laboratory elementary science fair in her division earlier this month. The win was a first for a Montauk student at the competition, which is held annually on the first weekend in May.

Kendall’s question was, “Do different types of music affect your heart rate?” Based on her results, she was able to prove that classical music slows a person’s heart rate, while pop music and rock ’n’ roll increase it.

“She nailed it,” said Joe Malave, the Montauk School’s science teacher.

Kendall’s was one of 470 projects from 500 students representing 120 schools at the fair, with three others from Montauk. In all, an estimated 27,000 students competed from Suffolk County in kindergarten through sixth grade. To make it to Brookhaven, the competitors were required to have won science fairs in their own school districts.

There were 50 judges this year, including Mr. Malave, and each was paired with a scientist from the Brookhaven lab.

“Kendall’s project met all the criteria and she received extremely high marks for it,” Mr. Malave said.