EXPERIMENTAL MINDS

Steven Hendricks made 15 round trips to Scott City and back with his dad, all in the name of science.

Adam Flesch used a hot iron on metal bars and rods to determine which ones best conducted heat.

Leslie Micek studied the effectiveness of different sunscreens.

The three St. Vincent de Paul students are among the young scientists participating in the 44th annual Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair this week.

Judging will take place this afternoon at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Cape Girardeau.

Exhibits will be open to the public, beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The science fair concludes at 7 p.m. Thursday with an awards program. A number of scholarships and prizes will be awarded.

The two top senior division winners win an all-expenses-paid trip to Detroit in May to compete in the 51st International Science and Engineering Fair. The top eighth-grade exhibitor also gets to attend the international competition as an observer.

This year, 209 student projects in 24 different categories from junior botany to senior microbiology are entered in the Southeast Missouri regional competition.

Of those, 147 are in the junior division for seventh and eighth graders and 62 are in the senior division for high school students.

Twenty-five of St. Vincent de Paul science teacher Marilyn Peters' students have exhibits in the regional fair.

Peters serves on the science fair's organizing committee. She is sold on the science fair.

"It teaches them how to solve problems using a scientific method," said Peters. "That works in everyday life too."

Peters said the student exhibitors learn how to meet deadlines and have fun while learning about science.

"I like it because it gives students a chance to show what they have done," she said.

For eighth grader Steven Hendricks, the competition provided him a chance to literally go the extra mile.

He compared the fuel efficiency of 87-, 89- and 93-octane gasoline in a car driven by his father. Hendricks found the difference was not enough to justify the expense of the higher octane fuel.

The difference was less than a mile per gallon, he said.

"My grandpa had a gas station for years and years. Grandpa always said it didn't make a difference," said Hendricks, who also competed in the science fair last year.

Adam Flesch was the grand champion winner among 62 projects at St. Vincent de Paul School earlier this year.

The seventh grader studied how long it took to raise the temperature of aluminum, steel and zinc-plated steel by five degrees using a conventional iron.

Leslie Micek tested various sunscreens with different sun-block ratings and found there was little difference between them.

The seventh grader tested the sunscreens on sun paper, special paper that turns dark blue from exposure to the sun.

Micek experimented with six different sunscreens. "I like doing projects like this," she said, standing in front of her display board and holding a thick notebook detailing her experiment.

While the display boards catch the attention of the public, the judges pay close attention to the record of the experiments in the students' notebooks.

Local organizers said the science fair over the years has encouraged thousands of students to continue their science education.

Peters said the science fair has grown over the years. It used to be held in the University Center Ballroom at Southeast Missouri State University.

But the fair has outgrown those quarters. Today, it is held in the Holiday Inn Convention Center with exhibits filling up the main room and a side room.

It is sponsored by the Southeast Missourian, Southeast Missouri State University, Drury Southwest and Hathaway Consulting, with the assistance of a number of other businesses and organizations.

Peters said the larger quarters are a testimony to the popularity of the science fair. "It definitely is coming back as far as the science fair goes."

IF YOU GO...

Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair

Open to the public:

Today 6 to 9 p.m.

Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Location:

Holiday Inn Convention Center, Cape Girardeau