The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

On February 20 from 6:00-7:30 p.m., Meadowlark Elementary School played host to the Second Annual Science Fair. During this time, student projects were on display for the community to scrutinize, and the top young scientists were celebrated: Cali Van Voast, Garrisen Powell, Sasha Anderson, and Rian Molyneaux. These students and their projects will advance to Great Falls on March 5 for regional competition at the Middle School Science Fair.

Parents and community members who strolled the Meadowlark gymnasium on Tuesday evening saw curiosity unveiled. For example, in his project, Hay There, Hay Bale, Jaxton Crowley studied the nutrient values in various hay compositions. Those on which he conducted research were Timothy grass, alfalfa, and barley. In other projects, Kolt Rutledge simulated a tsunami, Amos Billmayer experimented with "Electric Electrolytes," and Austin Anderson asked, "What Conducts the Most Static Electricity?"

Ayzlee Kelly's display board contained images and figures in addition to text to recapture her process in preparing Elephant's Toothpaste. Although not actually toothpaste, the chemical reaction in her experiment produces a large foamy mess that acts like toothpaste squirting from a tube. The resulting foam is called "elephant's toothpaste" because of the large volume produced. Kelly prepared a yeast mixture with hydrogen peroxide and dish soap to demonstrate how yeast can act as a catalyst to separate the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide to create an exothermic reaction that resembles an explosion.

In a similar experiment, Pyper Hajenga created Oobleck, a suspension of cornstarch and water that can behave like a solid or a liquid depending on how much pressure is applied. Grabbing some of the mixture, Hajenga demonstrated how it will form a solid ball until pressure is released, after which it would ooze from her hand.

Because Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid, it acts like a liquid when being poured but behaves like a solid when a force is acting on it. Oobleck gets its name from the Dr. Seuss book Bartholomew and the Oobleck, where a gooey green substance, Oobleck, falls from the sky and wreaks havoc in the kingdom.

According to Sixth Grade Math and Science Teacher Alicia Noel, who organized the event, the students started their projects in January by selecting topics they were interested in, researching them, and then creating hypotheses for their experiments. In the next stage, the young scientists presented their ideas to two judges who designated the top three. Blaine County Superintendent of Schools and former Chinook Junior High School Science Teacher, Kendall Harwood, and Blaine County Family and Consumer Science and 4-H MSU Extension Agent, Trent Noel, served as judges.

Harwood and Noel used a rubric to score and rank each of the science fair contestants. Categories such as Knowledge of Scientific Method, Poster Appearance, Use of Data, and Oral Presentation served as criteria points. Each student was scored on a scale of 1 to 4 for each category, with four being the best.

Next, the judges moved from student to student, allowing each to provide a synopsis of how the science experiment was performed.

"We interacted with each student and asked a variety of questions," Harwood explained. "After we had gone through all of them, Trent and I took one more lap around, refreshing our memories and deciding on our top three projects with three more alternates."

Based on their decision, Van Voast, Powell, Anderson, and Molyneaux will advance to Great Falls for regional competition.

The two judges also chose alternates. Piper Skoyen with her Vacuum Candle, Mason Aberg with his question about water's magnetism, and Kaylie Skoyen with her project entitled "There Is No Such Thing as Too Much Crystals" will compete in the Region II 6-8 Science Fair if for any reason the top three are unable to attend.

To claim her status in the Top Three, Van Voast designed a model of the lungs and researched their function. With this research-based project, she didn't have a hypothesis. However, Powell's project focused on using a potato as a battery/power source. He originally began by trying to power a clock with potatoes for two-five days. When he couldn't get that to work, he changed the process to using potatoes to power a light.

Finally, Anderson and Molyneaux collaborated on their project, Stain, Stain Go Away to determine which toothpaste would work the best to remove stains on teeth.

"The projects were are all pretty interesting, and I think the students had fun," commented Mrs. Noel.

Harwood considered the work of these young scientists to be well executed: "I especially enjoyed the few that had a physical demonstration associated with their project. It was apparent to me that the students were encouraged to choose a project that pertained to their interests. Mrs. Noel has done an amazing job getting the sixth graders into performing science. I truly hope this tradition continues for years to come."

Amos Billmayer stands by to explain his science project, Electric Electrolytes, to any interested guest at the Science Fair.

On March 5, Great Falls College MSU will play host to the Regional Middle School Science Fair. The event is affiliated with the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators' Challenge, which is a program of the Society for Science & the Public. Projects will be rated on scientific thought and engineering, clarity of results, creative ability and originality in approach, thoroughness in exhibiting an intended purpose, and skill/workmanship in the project's design and presentation. From among the participants, thirty of the sixth through eighth graders will be selected as finalists and will win an all-expense-paid trip to the national finals week in Washington, DC where they will showcase their projects, compete in teams, and visit historical sites and organizations that celebrate innovation. The top prize is a $25,000 education award with numerous other awards and prizes offered throughout the process to both students and educators.

Anyone with questions about completing the required paperwork is encouraged to submit those questions to leanne.frost@gfcmsu.edu.