Science Fair 2019

This year’s school science fair took place on January 19, 2019. There were 294 projects submitted from 6th through 12th grade. This is the largest fair in the school’s history. Because of the amount of projects submitted, there were 30 judges involved with the event. This was not only the biggest science fair ever, but the most successful too, sending more projects on to compete at the state level. The success was no surprise. The judges thought very highly of the winning projects with many wonderful comments. Mrs. Ludvik did a wonderful job in the off season by acquiring new equipment to further test and allow different types of projects to participate this year. Mrs. Ludvik even said, “I am super proud of everyone for working so hard.”

The district science fair was also held at Bessemer Academy this year. Three high school, three middle school, and three elementary projects are chosen in each division (biological and physical) to represent each school in the district.

High School Biological:

• Alleigh Oswalt – Does the Chemical Oxybenzone in Sunscreen Affect Daphnia?
• Alexis Oliver – Saliva for First Aid
• Walker Payne – The Effect of Light on Planaria

High School Physical:

• Judson Hogeland – Mobile Security
• Tristan King – Predicting the Future Fluctation of a Stock Using Technical Analysis
• Christian Hayes – Aeroelastic Flutter

Middle School Biological:

• Matthew Mason – Dogs and Dog Treats
• Morgan Welch – Pearly Whites
• Ty Fleming – Horse of a Different Color

Middle School Physical:

• Kierston Pierce – What Makes Ice Melt the Fastest
• Ben Hill – Which Surface is Best?
• Hayden Bradley – Helium and Balloon Speed
• Kolin Simpson – Dry-fit v. Cotton

Elementary Biological:

• Alex Stritikus – Growing Oregano Indoors
• Aidyn Langston – Germx v. Hand Soap
• Alex McLaughlin – Jump in A?! Water Quality

Elementary Physical:

• Harper Rawls – Is It Worth the Money? Batteries
• Drew Patterson – Newborn Baby Diaper Absorbency Test
• Clint Richie – Where’s the Sweet Spot? Baseball

Here’s what some of our students had to say about their projects:

Alexis Oliver: “I am testing if saliva is a healthier alternative than antibiotics and antifungal. As some people know, dogs use their own saliva to heal their wounds. I want to test if saliva is effective for humans. According to my results, saliva is not as effective as antibiotics and antifungal. However, in certain cases saliva can be used. For example, when antibiotic and antifungal are not in reach, saliva should be the next choice.”

Aleigh Oswalt: “I am testing if the chemical oxybenzone, that is in most sunscreens, is more harmful to aquatic life than reef-safe sunscreen. Reef-safe sunscreen does not contain the toxic chemical oxybenzone, and reef-safe sunscreen is the only sunscreen allowed in the state of Hawaii in order to protect their coral reefs. In my experiment, I tested differing levels of diluted versions of both sunscreens on daphnia, and the results were extremely clear. The trial groups that were exposed to the sunscreen with oxybenzone were all completely killed, but the trial groups exposed to reef- safe sunscreen all had survivors, with more survivors in the groups with less sunscreen total. My results plead with the sunscreen consumer to use reef-safe sunscreen to protect the ocean and all aquatic life for generations to come.”

Ty Fleming: “I am testing does a horse’s eye color spectrum effect what treat they prefer. Horses can only see greys, blues, and yellows. The horses had the option to pick and orange, brown, or multicolor treat. I did this experiment 3 times to make sure the results were completely correct. The horses picked the orange treat the most first, and the multicolored treat second.”

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In addition to our District winners, we had one student whose project placed at the State Fair. Christian Hayes placed 2nd in High School Physical. Congratulations, Christian!