News
Briefly
Calendar of Events
Commentary
Opinions
Sports
Diversions
World News
Classifieds
Login
Letter Submission
Search
Archive
Publishing Policy
Mail Subscriptions
St. Cloud State University
College Publisher
Home
>
News
Young scientists inspire
By Becky Glander
Published:
Monday, February 28, 2005
Media Credit: Tim Gruber
Joel Knighton, a sixth grader from Coon Rapids Middle School, listens carefully as a judge poses a question about his projectile physics project. Joel was inspired to pursue the project after reading an article in the Star Tribune.
Saturday marked the 55th Annual Central Minnesota Regional Science Fair and Research Paper Program. Atwood's ballroom hosted hundreds of sixth through 12th graders and their projects.
The fair was open to the public, with many parents and St. Cloud residents eager to witness the young scientists in action and judge the displays for themselves.
"There have been some good projects," said St. Cloud resident Linda Schreiber, who came to explore the fair with her son. "We've been pointing out what makes it into the science fair as far as attractive display, neat display, print that's large enough to read and projects that have enough samples to verify the experiment."
Preparation
Jack McKenna, a chemistry professor at SCSU, has been directing the science fair for 22 years. McKenna said that planning for the fair begins the day the previous year's fair ends. Preparing for the fair includes making reservations for rooms in Stewart and Atwood, recruiting judges and sending information to participating high school and junior high teachers.
"There's a team of directors that does all of this work," McKenna said. "It takes a lot of effort. It's one of those things where people don't see how much effort goes into getting this ready to go."
McKenna said that the reason he has been organizing the fair for so many years is that he enjoys the inquisitive nature of the student presenters.
"The excitement of the kids is why I do it," McKenna said. "You can just walk through and talk to them and see their excitement."
An aspect of the science fair that may surprise some people is the number of judges recruited for the event, McKenna said.
This year's fair employed 110 judges, 70 of which were students from SCSU, the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University.
For the past five years, McKenna has recruited his son Brian, a student at SJU, to perform the duties of floor manager.
"I just come to help out and do whatever he needs me to do," said Brian McKenna, who claims he worked in exchange for food.
Exhibitors
Junior high and high school students from 17 counties across Central Minnesota participated in this year's science fair. The students were allowed to enter as individuals or in cooperative teams.
Strict rules for displays, regulated by SCSU chemistry professor Nathan Winter, included restrictions such as no plant and animal tissues or even water.
The best way to present results is through photographs, Winter said. Winter also commented that there had been an issue this year with the rule of "no ray-generating devices."
For the most part, students attempted to show the results of their experiments through the use of decorated display boards and pictures.
Displays filled the ballroom explaining how to make soap float, which type of paper is best and a new, improved design for crutches. The students stood beside their projects, some in suits and professional attire, eager to explain the meaning behind their research.
Joel Knighton, a sixth-grader from Coon Rapids Middle School, completed a project titled "Effect of Angle of Barrel and Psi Charge" using a potato gun to test his hypothesis.
"My favorite subject is actually history, but my favorite part of science is physics," Knighton said. "The petard, which is what most potato guns are modeled after originated in the Middle Ages, so I got to combine two of my interests."
Awards Ceremony
After all the projects had been judged and put away, the students attended the event that they had been anticipating all day.
All participants received certificates and ribbons, but only 45 students qualified to move on to the state competition. Of those 45, three projects (four students) were chosen to attend the International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona, paid for by SCSU.
The winning students were Amber Kirk, a 10th-grader from Coon Rapids High, Richie and Ryan Huynh, ninth-graders from Champlin Park High and Danielle Erhard, a ninth-grader from Coon Rapids High.
One of the award presenters was David Grether, who has been affiliated with the fair for 49 years. This year, the name of the science fair has been modified to include his name. He has been retired for 15 years from SCSU's Department of Biological Sciences, but still takes an active role as the fair's Financial Director.
Forum:
No comments have been posted for this story.
Post a comment
