Hundreds bring projects to science fair

After participating in the annual Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair a second time, Hunter Hendershott, an eighth-grader at Jackson Junior High School, said he has learned experiments don't always turn out as predicted.

"There are so many things we can't accurately guess based on a little bit of knowledge and prior tests," Hendershott said Tuesday as he stood next to his project that detailed what type of arrowhead works best for penetrating animal hide.

After making arrowheads from different materials, Hendershott and his partner, Parker Philips, put them to the test by attaching a leather strap to a force-measuring machine. Once the arrowhead punctured the hide, they recorded the amount of force needed.

Hendershott said they thought the stone arrowhead would work best, but bone had the best results.

Their project was among the work of 475 students from 32 area high schools and junior high schools. The event, at the Show Me Center, had 331 displays -- 285 in the junior division and 46 in the senior division.

Reyana Heitman explains a sugar crystal experiment to judge Dr. Rachel Morgan Theall during the science fair Tuesday. (glandberg@semissourian.com)

Two seniors are selected to compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh from May 10 to 15 -- all expenses paid -- and one eighth-grader is chosen to observe. Winners were announced Tuesday evening.

Jon Rodgers, an 11th-grader at Dexter Senior High, received first place in the senior division for his project titled "Using Aliivibrio Fischeri to Detect Water Toxins."

Brynn Myers, a 10th-grader at Oak Ridge High School, finished second with "Cleaning the Scene -- Using Forensics to Test for the Presence of Blood."

Chief of judges David Probst said both projects were well-designed experiments.

"The procedures were well-laid out, well-thought out," he said. "They had multiple trials, so there was heft to what they did. It wasn't just one trial."

Judges Camden Criddle and Tim Pierce read their notes Tuesday during the Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair at the Show Me Center. (Glenn Landberg)

Chris McGowan, director of the science fair, said Rodgers and Myers also communicated well about their projects. Each student at the fair is interviewed by at least two judges.

Sophie Freeman, an eighth-grader at T.S. Hill Middle School in Dexter, won the junior division with her project, "Luminol Glow," which tested whether changing water temperature affects how long Luminol glows.

McGowan said the best projects are unique, and sometimes a student will have a research project that has never been done.

"Certainly, at the international level, that's what wins," he said.

Regardless of whether the student wins first place, Probst said it gives them firsthand exposure to the practice of science.

"The hope is it will pique their interest in studying further, ultimately going into some kind of STEM-related field," he said.

klamb@semissourian.com

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