There’s some pretty impressive brain power being flexed in the Fountain Valley home of Nicola and Chad Weiss.
It’s a good bet theirs is the only home on the block with a backyard shed converted into a science lab. True, it may have started as a cool place from which to launch dry ice bombs and a space where the family didn’t have to share the pungent side effects of some of 15-year-old Sean Weiss’ experiments with methane extraction from feces.
Now, all five of the Weiss kids share the space for experiments and projects.
Next week, Nicola Weiss and the children will be going to San Francisco to make presentations at the prestigious American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting, which begins Monday. It’s the largest international gathering of earth and space scientists, with more than 25,000 scientists, educators and students scheduled to attend.
The Weisses will be represented by Sean, who’s presenting for the second year, triplets Cameron, Evan and Megan, 14, and Ian, 12, as well as Nicola. The family will present posters that display their projects and findings.
Last year, Nicola Weiss, 45, who has helped launch several so-called STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – programs in local schools, took her kids to the Geophysical Union to experience the event. Weiss is a stay-at-home mom as well as a volunteer for numerous causes.
“The other four (children) were inspired by everything they saw up there,” she said of the effect on her kids, who each took up a project to undertake for consideration this year.
Well, mostly.
“I don’t know if I wanted to (create a project) or had to,” admitted Megan, a freshman at Edison High whose talents take a more artistic than scientific turn.
Her brothers break into peals of laughter when recounting an experiment Megan undertook last year to see if beetles could become stronger through exercise. The experiment apparently involved calisthenics and the pulling of sleds and weights by the insects.
“It wasn’t a bad idea. It was just the execution,” Ian says, setting off another round of laughs.
For this year’s event, Megan studied carbon dioxide conversion to determine which of several kinds of plants release the most oxygen, apparently finding plants made easier test subjects than beetles.
Sean is looking into the very topical and current field of converting methane from cow manure into energy to reduce greenhouse gases. He has been ablle to use methane from cow manure to power several appliances, including a refrigerator.
Cameron studied desalination and the optimal environment for the process. Evan looked at organic decomposition and the release of greenhouse gas, and Ian studied converting heat radiating off pavement into an energy system. He is also one of two students from Talbert Middle School presenting a group project on an array of threats to oceans, including debris and acidification.
Nicola Weiss and John Wood, a teacher at Talbert Middle School, will also have a poster presentation about the STEM program at Talbert.
All five of the children are part of the Bright Students Training as Research Scientists (STaRS) program that brought about 100 middle and high school students to present their research at the gathering.
The students followed the same abstract submission process and standards as the professional scientists making presentations.
Sean’s and Ian’s projects both came from real-life observations. While on poop scooping duty in the backyard, Sean realized there was energy stored in the feces. That eventually led him to explore different projects, including harvesting energy from cow waste, earning him recognition in several science contests.
“It’s had its ups and downs,” Sean says of his experiments.
“Let’s just say one of the lab coats has a permanent stain,” he adds, referring to the effects of the stench on his digestion.
Sean also received recognition in the Register in 2013 for organizing blood drives and for raising money for cancer research when his friend Zach Zeissner was dying from the disease. Those efforts have led Sean to consider a career in medicine.
For the Edison High sophomore, science is all about exploration and discovery.
“My favorite part of doing an experiment is finding something totally new that you didn’t expect,” he said. “You learn how much you don’t know. I like that sense of wonder.”
Ian, meanwhile, came up with his project idea after burning his toes on hot pavement.
Wood, a scientist who has done extensive polar research, has taught all the Weiss children at Talbert and said he’s proud of the work they are producing.
He said he first met Sean when he was a 12-year-old with a mile-a-minute mind and has been gratified to see him developing focus in his research.
He sees in Ian the same kind of imagination that can observe phenomena and design experiments and produce results.
Nicola Weiss began looking for learning programs and opportunities several years ago when Sean began showing an interest in science. Since then, in addition to helping launch the STEM program at Talbert, she has been involved with the Academy of Sustainability at Edison High and its acclaimed Innovation Lab. She has even done some consulting with the Discovery Cube science center in Santa Ana.
Wood credits the Weiss parents with creating a strong learning environment for the kids. While there is expectation placed on them, he said it is girded by support.
Chad, the creative director for an advertising agency, is described as the one who gives the children their artistic sensibilities.
“This is the type of team effort you like to see in families,” he said.
Talking about his parents’ expectations and support, Evan said, “They drive us to do what we can. But they also expose us to options.”
Whether it’s high school lacrosse or rubbing elbows with some of the leading minds in science in San Francisco, Nicola Weiss said she wants her children to have experiences from which to make choices.
“The thing I hope they get is that little spark,” she said. “If they’re passionate about something, I know they’ll follow through.”
Contact the writer: 714-796-7964 or gmellen@scng.com
