ROCHESTER — What happens when you cross a science fair with musical performances, art displays and a book fair?

It might not be the most natural question, but the answer could nonetheless be found at Rochester Memorial School May 16. 

The school was abuzz Thursday as various events of “Steam-a-palooza” — an all-encompassing evening of science, technology, engineering, art and math presentations and activities — filled the bustling building.

A science fair in the cafeteria served as an eclectic exhibit of student projects and experiments.

One project explored if 10 willing subjects of family and friends could discern the difference between Coke and Pepsi with a blind taste test.

By a slim margin, the conclusion discovered by Hadley Owen was that the majority of people tested could taste the difference between the two sodas. 

When she tested it out herself, Owen couldn’t tell the difference, she said. But the scientific method prevails, and six of the ten participants correctly identified what was Coke and what was Pepsi during Owen’s project.

“A lot of work, but it was really fun,” Owen said.

That wasn’t the only soda investigation brought to light during the “Steam-a-palooza.”

Logan Medeiros experimented with different beverages and Mentos in order to see which carbonated drink would propel the highest when mixed with the gum. Perhaps fittingly, regular Coke was the answer.

Medeiros said “exploding the Sprite” was his favorite part of the project. 

In another science project, Jonas Duggan, Andie Latham and Archer Latham designed a lie detector test that involved a heart rate monitor, a “snap circuits” system that sensed sweat on fingers, and photo comparisons of facial expressions.

The group’s detector was able to correctly distinguish if the truth was being told 63% of the time.

Duggan said his favorite part of the project was “questioning people.” According to the project’s display, test of honesty questions for subjects ranged from “Do you speak another language?” and “Have you ever had surgery?” to “Do you fart in public?” 

In addition to the science fair, students performed music, and different artwork was displayed throughout the school.

Outside a room filled with different math games, Ella Ohrenberger and Charlotte Parrott stood next to a 3D printer producing a goldfish piece they had designed.

Using a website, they designed the shape that was then sent to the printer. It created the orange fabrication by “distributing little layers” of plastic, Ohrenberger said.

Other science projects on display included an experiment by Tim Eilertsen to see what dish soap would best clean baseball pants, in which Dawn won out against OxiClean.

Eilertsen enjoyed “cleaning [the pants] and sliding in them,” he said.

At a table nearby, Cody Sorenson stood by a prototype he built, a truck designed to excel in Antarctic conditions.

Sorenson said he based the cabin of the prototype off of a “kei-truck,” a type of Japanese mini truck.

“I’m always thinking about them in class,” he said.