Science Fair Gone Wild

by Jan May

Isabel and Holly grabbed their back packs off the seat and jumped off the school bus step.

Isabel pulled her scarf close around her dark brown hair as a chilly burst of January air swirled

around her face. “I’d do anything to win that laptop in the science fair,” she confessed to Holly.

“Did you see that snooty Amanda Parkington passing out flyers for her victory party at school

today? asked Holly. “Like she already won!”

“She makes me so mad,” Isabel protested. “Just because her uncle is a biologist, she thinks

she knows everything.” Isabel stopped and put her hands on her hips. “And she doesn’t even

need a laptop!”

“I know, right?” agreed Holly. “Her parents give her anything she wants.”

“Besides, she already beat me out of the cheering squad, and editor of the newspaper,”

grumbled Isabel. She slapped her fist in her hand, “Holly, I have to win this contest! I could

finish the website for Helping Horses; then our whole stable could be used to help disabled

kids.”

“It’s such a cool idea to use your horses to help those kids, Izzy.” said Holly. “Hang on, let’s

think.” Her blue eyes twinkled as she tapped her chin. “Maybe we could make a documentary of

something; you know how good I am at making movies!”

Isabel grinned. “That’s right! But what could we do?”

“I heard about a girl who chewed 1000 sticks of bubble gum and used the rubber to make a

model of Justin Bieber,” said Holly, snickering.

Isabel shook her head and chuckled. “Hmmm, I’m not so sure that’s actually science. Can

you stop over today? Maybe we can come up with some ideas.”

“Sure,” said Holly, sloshing through the snow.

When the two girls reached Isabel’s house, their cheeks were red with cold. Isabel’s dad was

hauling the Christmas tree out through the front door.

“Hey, Dad, what ya doing?”asked Isabel, running up.

“Hey Mr. M.” said Holly with a little wave.

Dad stopped to adjust his work gloves. “Hi, girls. We’re going to decorate our Christmas tree

for the birds today. You didn’t forget, did you Isabel?”

“Oh, yeah,” said Isabel, thoughtfully. “I did forget! Holly, you wanna help?”

Holly screwed up her lips and shrugged her shoulders. “Sure.”

Mrs. Morningsky stepped out of the house wrapped in her new furry Christmas coat, carrying

a box of pinecones and birdseed. “Hi girls, let’s go out back.”

The girls crunched their boots in the snow as they marched around the house following Dad

with the Christmas tree and Mom with her box. Together with Mrs. Morningsky, they tied string

around the end of the pinecones, slathered them in peanut butter, and rolled them in birdseed,

then hung them on the tree.“It almost looks good enough to eat!” admired Isabel.

Holly tucked her hands under her arms and flapped. “I have wings!” she shouted.

“Look Mom, it’s a Holly-bird!” said Isabel, pointing.

Mrs. Morningsky smiled. “I made some hot chocolate earlier, it might go good with those left

over gingerbread men inside on the counter.”

The girls looked at each other wide-eyed and dashed into the house giggling. They took their

hot chocolate and cookies and headed to the family room so they could Google for ideas for the

science fair.

Holly picked up Isabel’s bird book that was lying on the coffee table and plopped down on

the couch as Isabel turned on the computer. Holly as she flipped through the pages. “I love

cardinals, don’t you? They’re sooo pretty,” she cooed.

Isabel glanced out the window. “Look, Holly, the birds are eating the pinecones already.”

Holly dashed to the window and pressed her nose on the glass.

As Isabel watched the birds she got an idea. “That’s it!” she cried. “I read this great article in

a magazine about birds the other day. It says you can get wild birds to eat right out of your

hand.”

Holly twisted her blond curls around her finger. “Really? Wild birds?”

“Uh huh. You have to be really patient, though. We could make a documentary out of it and

submit the video for the science fair at school.”

Holly’s face was beaming. “You could win the laptop and Miss Smarty Pants would be so

mad!”

Isabel looked at Holly with that serious, “let’s get down to business” look. “I’ll do the feeding

and you do the filming. You’re better at than me anyway.”

Holly leaned in to listen. “Ok,” she said, “go on.”

“The article said you have to be real quiet or the birds will get scared and

fly away,” continued Isabel.

Holly sat up and dunked her gingerbread man in her hot chocolate then took a bite. “Don’t

worry; you won’t even now I’m there! What else did it say?”

Isabel put her hand on her chin. “Let me think. Oh, you have to dress in natural colors so they

don’t get suspicious. It’s like becoming part of the landscape, so the birds get use to you.”

“Mmm, good idea!” replied Holly.

Isabel sipped her hot chocolate. “Wanna go outside and try?”

For the next several weeks, Isabel and Holly inched their ways to the bird feeders they hung

in the Christmas tree. Isabel kept a journal and Holly camcorded all their progress.

“I’m only a foot away now to the bird feeder without them flying away, Holly,” reported

Isabel one day after school.

Holly nervously bit her finger nail. “What are we going to do, Izzy? Tomorrow’s the deadline

for the science fair entries.”

“Maybe I’m not standing still enough,” said Isabel. “Or maybe we should try making up a

different kind of food.” Isabel thought for a minute. “The book also talked about putting bird

seed on your shoulder or your hat, as long as you stand very still.”

“Hmm…you might end up looking like the bird woman!” laughed Holly.

“Very funny. Holly, you’re the best cook ever! Do you think you could come up with a

special bird treat or something?”

Holly scrunched up her lips and thought for a minute. “I can try. Let’s Google.”

Holly leaned over as Isabel clicked away on the computer. “Look, here are some ingredients

we could try: Cornmeal, shortening, and dried fruits.”

“I know! We can make batch of super-duper Holly-Bird Cupcakes,” squealed Holly. “They’ll

be perfect!”

The girls checked the kitchen cabinets and found left over ingredients from their Christmas

baking: nuts, dried cranberries, and figs. They mixed up a batch of Holly Bird’s Cupcakes and

put them in the refrigerator to set.

Isabel looked at her watch impatiently. “The cupcakes should be done. Let’s take them

outside and see if the birds like them.”

Holly inspected the cupcakes. “Izzy, these look amazing! This could be the greatest video of

all times!”

Isabel went outside and crumbled the cupcakes into the bird feeders. She held another one in

her hand, and then stood very still. Holly stepped out of the house and crept slowly behind a bush

then she knelt down. She waved at Isabel.

“Okay, I got a perfect view!” Holly whispered.

Isabel knew she must stand very quiet, but after ten minutes, her arm got tired of holding it

out. She remembered about putting bird seed on your hat, so she sprinkled some up top and let

her hand rest a minute. She took a deep breath of the fresh cold air and glanced at the snow

covered mountains and trees. She remembered something she read in Bible time that morning

with her dad: “The Earth is the Lord’s and all its glory,”

A little chickadee flew around the bird feeder and nibbled on her cupcakes. She wanted to

shout but she knew she must remain very quiet. She glanced over at Holly who was smiling and

recording.

Come on little guy, come and take some out of my hand, she thought. The little bird flew close

to her, but turned and darted away.

Isabel’s shoulders slumped and she sighed. “Lord,” Isabel breathed up softly, “I really want

to win that laptop so I can get the word out to help those kids. Please send some birds for our

experiment.” All of a sudden she felt a light breeze on her face and there was a thump on top of

her head. It was a big blue jay. He pecked at the seed on her hat. Then another one came and

another. Soon she looked like a scarecrow with birds perching on her shoulders and on top of

her head. One little sparrow, flitted around her face, landed right on her glove, and ate out of her

hand.

Oh my gosh! He has beautiful feathers and tiny black eyes, they’re so cute! thought Isabel.

Holly tried, but she couldn’t hold back a gigantic sneeze. “Ah, Ah, Achoo!” The birds

scattered and flew away.

Isabel anxiously looked over at Holly. “Did you get it Holly? Did you get it?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Wait, let me check.” Holly fidgeted with her camcorder. “It looks all

blurry. Oh no, wait. Yes, I did! I got it! It will be the best movie ever. We’ll be famous! It’s

sure to win the laptop!”

On Monday at school, Isabel and Holly wandered around the gym spying on all the science

fair booths. Isabel had to admit, there were some good ones.

At last, Principal Stevens stood up on the stage with an envelope in her hand. “Okay students,

it looks like the judging is finished. It was tougher than we thought, but I think we have a

winner.”

Isabel sat nervously waiting as she jiggled her leg. She glanced over at Amanda. Amanda

glared back and smirked at Isabel.

“Class, we found a wonderful winning project this year,” Principal Stevens announced. “This

year we found an innovative idea that was birthed by two young ladies that was so creative, we

hope you’ll all try it.”

Isabel closed her eyes and crossed her fingers. “First place and the laptop go to: Isabel

Morningsky and Holly Haddleburg for their video on feeding wild birds and conservation.” The

gym was filled with applause.

Isabel grabbed Holly’s hand and the two girls jumped up and down. “We did it, Izzy! We did

it!”

Mom always said, thought Isabel, if you take care of what’s important to God, He’ll take care

of what’s important to you. Isabel’s face turned red. She looked at Holly with a sappy grin, “I

was the bird woman, wasn’t I?”

THE END

Go to the next page for recipes for Holly-Bird Cupcakes

Holly-Bird Cupcakes

Slowly melt 1 cup of shortening and 2 cups chunky peanut butter

Mix in 5 cups of cornmeal

Line a cupcake pan with paper cup cake holders and fill ¾ of the

cups

Sprinkle bird seed on top, cranberries or dried fruits.

Put in frig to cool down

You can put these cupcakes out in feeders, on picnic tables or even the ground and

watch the birds gobble up the tasty treats.

Isabel’s Irresistible Oatmeal-Bird Pops

Melt 1 cup shortening and add:

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup unsalted chopped nuts

1 cup bread crumbs

Cut a long string and tie a big knot on the end of it. Put the knotted end of the string at the bottom of a paper cup. Spoon the mixture into the cup and pack it down. Refrigerate the cups until they are firm. Pull the string gently to remove the pops from the cup. Take outside and tie up near feeder or in a tree.

Birds love these!

About the Author

Jan May is a freelance writer and author of the New Millennium Girls chapter books and writing curriculum for girls. Being a homeschool veteran and creative writing teacher, she also hosts a fun website for homeschoolers with free resources, projects, and kid friendly recipes. Come visit us!

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