Leave it to the young and inquiring participants of the 42nd annual Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair, held this week in Cape Girardeau, to ask good questions and search for good answers. Consider the enterprising seventh-grader who wanted to see which batteries really last longer. Or another seventh-grader who wanted to see if pets prefer a particular color of food dish.

Earthshaking? Not at all. But it fun and interesting, and if that encourages bright young minds to be interested in the world around them, so much the better.

Congratulations to all the science fair participants. Keep up the good work.