Student-Researchers Shine at 8th Annual Science Fair
More than 200 DMPS middle and high school students displayed their research projects at the 8th annual DMPS Science Fair.
Earlier this week Drake University announced that Bill Nye, “the science guy,” will deliver the next in the Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Series. But that won’t happen until April 14th. Until then there’s always the Science Center of Iowa and Thursday night it again hosted the annual DMPS Science Fair, sponsored by the Des Moines Public Schools Foundation, for secondary level students around the district. And again the young scientists flocked like dancers to a grand ballroom.
Adam Puderbaugh, DMPS Science Curriculum Coordinator, reported that numbers were up for the 8th annual think tank.
“Last year there were 189 projects,” he said as exhibitors filed in to set up their displays. “As of this afternoon, let’s see, we’re at 202.”
And as usual a wide range of riddles were posed.
Which soda pop makes the best rust dissolvent? Daniel Gonzalez of Weeks has proof that Coke is the one, at least as measured against Orange Crush and Sprite. Something to consider next time you’re thirsty and have rusty nails to restore.
Today is Lincoln’s birthday. What better occasion for penny shining? Don’t use vinegar – it actually darkens the tarnish, according to one display that was unmanned prior to the official opening of the judging period. Go with lemon juice. It leaves them looking like they’re worth something!
Longing for days hot enough to fry eggs on pavement? Callanan’s Rose Berber-Solis couldn’t wait. In late November she constructed a solar box out of common household items like aluminum foil, cardboard and black spray paint and used it as an oven to bake cookies. It took two hours @ a solar temp of 220 degrees, as opposed to 15 minutes in a conventional oven @ 350, but she said the results were worth the wait.
One observer scoured the exhibit space during setup hoping to find a baseball-related project. Usually there are one or two. When the word pitch caught his eye he pulled over at the “lab” of Olivia Appel, an 8th grader at Merrill. It wasn’t what he was hoping for but turned out to be an interesting exercise that blended art and science. Olivia’s a pianist. She and her fellow musicians sometimes have friendly arguments about who is best at identifying pitch. She had a hunch, and a hope, that pianists are and the results of her exhaustive, if not completely objective, research bear that out.
“I tested more than 100 people,” she said. “Everybody in the band and choirs and most of the orchestra at school…” Sure enough, pianists scored the highest. Chalk up bragging rights to Olivia. What did her friends say when presented with scientific evidence? “They’re in denial.”
In the high school division Abbie Youngwirth from Central Campus took on the “urban legend” that dogs’ mouths are cleaner than humans’. To put all of the fancy scientific mumbo jumbo in layman’s language, suffice it to say that the canine mouth doesn’t necessarily contain less bacteria, just different ones. And if you’re a dog lover who’s loved by a dog you probably don’t want to know where some of them come from. As is the case with HOT dogs, the ingredients of a pooch smooch are better left unknown.
At least one exhibit dealt with local water quality, but its test sources were Gray’s Lake and the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, not the kitchen tap. And samples were gathered in November so it was not inspired by the troubling situation in Flint, Michigan.
One of the presiding science teachers, Anson Bonte, offered an interesting personal perspective on the event. He’s in his fifth year at Callanan Middle School after three at East High. In recent years his students have entered projects based on data gleaned from weather balloon flights that have taken them to the edge of outer space. “I realized this year that I have former students who are teachers now,” Bonte said. One of his first batch of entrants from five years ago, Roosevelt/Central Academy’s Nosa Ali, took 2nd place in the high school Earth/Environmental Science category with her partner Shivani Kumareson. Nosa’s a Science Fair veteran and multiple award-winner. Who knows where she and the other young scientists will end up? But the next step for all of the place winners is the state Science Fair on March 31st and April 1st at Iowa State University in Ames.
8th Annual DMPS Science Fair Results
6th Grade Life Science
- 1st Place: Tie between Samantha Rodrigues of Weeks Middle School and Ashton Belknap of Merrill Middle School
- 2nd Place: John Puri of Merrill Middle School
- 3rd Place: Ian Reagan of Cowles Montessori
6th Grade Earth/Environmental Science
- 1st Place: Aria DeLara of Merrill Middle School
- 2nd Place: Janea Lozano of Weeks Middle School
- 3rd Place: Nelson Castellano of Weeks Middle School
6th Physical Science
- 1st Place: Georgia Matthews
- 2nd Place: Kallie Von der Linde
- 3rd Place: Charlie Craiger
7th Grade Life Science
- 1st Place: Jaden Miller of Brody Middle School
- 2nd Place: Georgia Paige of Merrill Middle School
- 3rd Place: Lauren Drake of Cowles Montessori
7th Grade Earth/Environmental Science
- 1st Place: Tie between Lauren Carpenter of Merrill Middle School and Cooper Kissell of Merrill Middle School
- 2nd Place: Olivia Ovrum of Merrill Middle School
- 3rd Place: Cael Fitch of Merrill Middle School
7th Grade Physical Science
- 1st Place: Yanni Antoniou of Merrill Middle School
- 2nd Place: Cole Flaherty of Brody Middle School
- 3rd Place: Paul LaVie of Brody Middle School
8th Grade Life Science
- 1st Place: Gary McCall and Risa Vandegrift of Cowles Montessori
- 2nd Place: Kyliana Benesh-Llopp of Callanan Middle School
- 3rd Place: Theo Auge and Jolie Seitz of Callanan Middle School
8th Grade Earth/Environmental Science
- 1st Place: Jennifer Robles of Meredith Middle School
- 2nd Place: Rose Berber-Solis of Callanan Middle School
- 3rd Place: Samantha Siegel of Brody Middle School
8th Grade Physical Science
- 1st Place: Ester Ubadigbo of Meredith Middle School
- 2nd Place: Abby Padilla of Meredith Middle School
- 3rd Place: Olivia Appel of Merrill Middle School
High School Life Science
- 1st Place: Brittany Nguyen of Central Campus
- 2nd Place: Chloe Ibsen of Central Campus
- 3rd Place: Abba Hoffman of Central Campus
High School Earth/Environmental Science
- 1st Place: Jordan Heeren, Sarah Hill, and Megan Kress of Central Campus
- 2nd Place: Nosa Ali and Shivani Kumareson of Central Academy
- 3rd Place: Tie between Lillian Nelson, Anna Owenson, and Karl Rasmussen of Central Campus and Rylee Friese, Logan Reed, and Rebecca Gibson of Central Campus
High School Physical Science
- 1st Place: Abby Espinosa-Gonzalez Bellolio of North High School
- 2nd Place: Jasmine Echeverria of North High School
- 3rd Place: Junice Sibley of North High School
