261 COMPETE IN SCIENCE FAIR

After staring through a microscope for nearly seven hours in one day, Notre Dame High School junior Kevin Lankheit came to a scientific conclusion.

Seven hours in one day is too long to spend looking through a microscope. Lankheit was studying the effects of ultraviolet light on the movement of euglena gracilis, an organism found in fresh water.

He is one of 261 students competing in the Regional Science Fair this week in Cape Girardeau. And, he explained to judges Tuesday afternoon, the light did impact the organism's movements.

Across the room, Katie Palmer, a seventh-grader at St. Vincent de Paul School in Cape Girardeau, explained her experiment entitled "Fore!"

She studied which kind of golf ball travels farthest when putted.

"I got the idea watching an infomercial," Palmer explained. "They were showing Titlist against another golf ball, but I wondered if their example was scientific."

A family friend devised a putting machine that would hit the golf ball with the same force each time. She studied four kinds of golf balls, counted dimples and cut the balls apart to study what was inside.

While the Titlist balls were more expensive, she said, "it seems, if you're a golfer, it's worth it."

Palmer said she had great fun conducting her experiment and even attracted the attention of neighbors who wondered why she was putting golf balls on the lawn.

Christopher Walker, a freshman at Advance High School, worries about global warming and air pollution. He decided to investigate what impact atmospheric pollution has on the growth of soybean plants.

Inside a controlled glass environment, Walker introduced pollutants from burning matches. The more matches burned the less the plants thrived.

"I think I could continue this experiment and isolate the pollutants," Walker said.

Local scientists judged the exhibit Tuesday, and first-, second- and third-place ribbons were awarded. Additional prizes will be given at a Thursday's banquet.

Ruth Hathaway, who is coordinating the science fair, explained that the event gives young scientists a chance to talk with professionals and each other.

They also have a chance to advance in the science fair competition. Three local winners will compete in the international contest.

"At that level, they compete for major prizes," Hathaway explained. Prizes include a week on the Jacques Cousteau research ship or a week's study in Israel, all-expenses paid. Minimum cash prizes are $5,000 and scholarships start at $40,000.

"Plus these students get a chance to see what other students their age are doing," she said. "We have bright kids in Southeast Missouri, but they always need to be challenged."

Exhibits are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Cape Girardeau. An awards ceremony will be held Thursday evening. Scholarships and prizes will be awarded.

The Science Fair is sponsored by Southeast Missouri State University, Southeast Missourian, Environmental Analysis South, Drury Southwest and Hathaway Consulting, with the assistance of a large number of businesses, industries and professional organizations.