Strange things have been happening in kitchens all around town in the Tamaqua School District.

Eggs have been exploding in microwaves, soda has been spewing from bottles, ice cream has been left to melt on countertops, unpopped popcorn kernels have been counted, gummy worms dissolved, iPods charged with oranges and bread slices left on plates until mold formed.Not to worry; it's all in the name of science. And if students become more interested in science because they can perform experiments which interest them for example, eighth-grade girls wanted to know which nail polish lasted the longest without chipping more power to them."The students had to pick a question, or hypothesis, and design a procedure in an experiment which would prove it true or false," Tamaqua School District science teacher Lauren Elston explained. "They had to have results, and describe their conclusion."The school district hosted a science fair for middle school students Thursday afternoon in the middle school gymnasium."There are about 300 experiments here, which the students did," said science teacher Ed Mariano.Mariano, Elston, Joseph Ruddy, Mike Luna and Mike Murphy are the middle school science teachers."I'm really proud of the work that the students did," he added.Seventh-grader Justin Weiksner dropped clay balls from a three-story height onto different surfaces, a cement sidewalk and a water storage tub, to gauge the degree of deformity. The display he made for his project included pictures and detailed descriptions of his work."I really like science," Weiksner said. "I liked taking what we learn in class and testing ideas."