Students present science fair projects at Regional Science Fair

Posted 5/2/18

Fourteen 7th and 8th grade students headed south on February 28th to present their science fair projects at the regional Science Fair.

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Students present science fair projects at Regional Science Fair

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LUSK- Fourteen 7th and 8th grade students headed south on February 28th to present their science fair projects at the regional Science Fair.  The students went above and beyond the classroom and worked on their projects beginning before Christmas break outside of their school day.  The projects ranged from popping popcorn to building a hovercraft.  The students were on the bus early to begin their day at the Eastern Wyoming College campus.  As the students got off the bus, they each found his/her display board and begin the long wait for the judges.  Most of the students were judged by two judges with some having the opportunity to talk to three or four.  All the judges were volunteers and had spent the day before looking over each of the projects, evaluating each one using a rubric with the scientific process guidelines.  The students were then judged on their presentation skills and knowledge of their projects.  

There were at least ten different categories for the students to participate.  The fourteen students that participated for Lusk Middle School were: 

* Kort Bannan tested the absorption capabilities of different grades of wool,

* Phoebe Allbright tested the strength of a homopolar motor with different amounts of magnets

* Kendal Engelker tested her hovercraft with different amounts of weight

* Melody Zumbrunnen partnered up with Lanie Bauersachs to test the evaporation rate of different liquids

* Cooper Stewart tested the heat retention of different amounts of sand

* Larkin Williams tested different brands of popcorn for the most popped to not popped kernel ratio

* Evelyn DesEnfants used a 3-D printer to make a structure with three different kinds of infill then tested their strength capabilities

* Dillon Hayes tested how temperature affected the bouncing height of a tennis ball

* Colton Coffman partnered with his brother Kaden Bauersachs and tested the fizzing properties of different brands of soda

* Adelle DesEnfants tested the warming retention capabilities of different brands of coffee mugs

*  Jaden Stauffer tested the pH of different forms of water.  

After presenting to the judges, the students gathered in the EWC auditorium to hear the results.  All of the students did a great job with their projects and eight of the students placed.  These students were then invited to fill out their applications to see if they could present at the state Science Fair in Laramie during the first part of March.  

After arriving home and during the next couple of days, these students filled out all of the paperwork and waited to see if they would be accepted to participate in Laramie.  Two of the students were unable to attend because of previous family engagements over spring break but all of the students who filled out the necessary paperwork were accepted. 

   On Sunday, March 4th, these six students and Mrs. VandeBossche along with Carie Bannan headed to Laramie for three days of the Wyoming State Science Fair.  The students arrived on campus and received their participant ribbons. Then the students headed into the presentation area on the top of the University of Wyoming Student Center to set up their projects.  No adults are allowed to help the students during this process or are able to be present while the students present to the judges.  After setting up their projects, they had to go through a series of guidelines with a fair proctor to make sure their projects followed protocol.  The following morning, the students were given an opportunity to pick an informative session about different subjects.  The sessions ranged from building aquatic invaders to visiting the Williams Conservatory to learn about plants.  After the sessions, the students had lunch and then got ready to present to the judges.  They each went to their respective projects and once again waited for the judges to present their findings.  After their presentation, the students got to experience the Washakie Dining Center.  They drove over and toured the new Laramie high school and finished out their day with swimming.  The following day the students gathered in the Fine Arts theatre to await the results.  Phoebe Allbright placed second in her division while Kort Banaan, Evelyn DesEnfants, and Kendal Engelker each received special awards from different donors.  All the division placers and special award winners can be found at the following website:  http://www.uwyo.edu/sciencefair/2017wssfawardwinners.html.   This is the third year Lusk has participated at both the regional and state science fairs.  This is the first year the science fair has been volunteer only.  Mrs. VandeBossche was very pleased with the students who took on the challenge and spent their free time researching, experimenting, and presenting their projects.  It says a lot about those students that go beyond the classroom to enhance their learning.