The Kutztown Middle School Fifth Grade Science Fair yielded more projects and awards than in previous years.
The 31 fifth graders presented 20 projects at the ninth annual Science Fair on Friday, Feb. 13 at Kutztown Middle School.
At the end of the night, the event’s coordinator Linda Schroeder distributed awards in group and individual categories, judged by seven teachers, scientists and engineers. First place for the individual category went to Isaak Beckett, with his project “Does Water Type Make a Difference?” Adam Moyer’s “Penn Chunker Catapult” won second and Anya Tackack’s “Food Allergens vs. Cleaning Products” won third.
For the group category, Taylor Sleboda, Caitlyn Lubak and Raegan Loeb won first for “A Bacteria Environment.” Olivia Wanner and Joanna Herrlin’s “Pizza Magic” won second and Sophia Arnold and Breanna Marshall’s “The Secret on Your Lips” won third.
“I’m so proud. [Sophia] worked on this for weeks and weeks,” said father Andrew Arnold. “It wasn’t just doing the experiment. It was learning about the scientific method.”
“I know they worked very hard,” added mother Arabel Elliot. “It’s really important for young women to feel that they have skills in math and science.”
Elliot was especially proud that the girls’ hypothesis was supported. According to Marshall, they decided to conduct the experiment when they found “harmful products” in lip cosmetics. Sophia added that they figured a homemade product would be better.
Other projects of note were Moyer’s individual second place catapult, which Schroeder said he built himself, and the group first place experiment testing for bacteria on different surfaces.
Schroeder gave out two Spirit of Science awards, a category she added for the third time in the nine years of the Science Fair. One went to McKenzie Drey, who needed guidance on her project “Crystal Cathedral” but was still able to complete it. The other went to Life Skills student Hannah Devall for her project “Germs.” Schroeder gave Devall the award for overcoming a disability to “go all the way” with the project. Schroeder said Devall’s teacher, Kutztown Elementary’s Beth Hartz, and parents helped her with the experiment.
Devall’s project tested how dirty versus clean hands affects pieces of bread, according to Devall and Hartz.
“It’s a great experience because the kids are able to pick their own project,” Hartz said about Life Skills students like Devall. “It gives them the communication skills they need and the socialization.”
Schroeder said entries were “creative” and “varied” this year and all were “close” in judges’ decisions.
Katie Vallies completed a group-turned-solo project on learning through music.
“It was a little difficult because my partner dropped out on me a little before it was due.”
She said the people she tested were helpful with completing the experiment and “the judges were real nice and welcoming.”
Vallies’s mother Joyce James had told her daughter, “You don’t have to win. You do your best at it and present it.”
She mentioned that talking to adults like the judges boosts their social skills and self-esteem.
“I think it’s great exposure for them to talk to individuals or…groups,” Vallies’ mother Joyce James said.
Kristen Berk, mother of Emilee, said “It’s good bonding and learning with their friends. They learn to work together.”
Emilee had asked her partner Marnie Derr to do a project together, and Derr had already decided on testing bread mold even before fifth grade. This resulted in their project “Which Brand of Bread Molds the Fastest?”
The fair began in 2007 with six projects in the Kutztown Elementary Library. Now the fifth grade projects have become a station in a science and technology fair, including middle and high school students and organizations, at the middle school. According to Schroeder, a quarter of the fifth grade participates on average.
“Every year…they blow me away with their wonderful projects. They’re just unbelievably professional for fifth graders,” said Schroeder.
