BEMIDJI — Around 40 students showed off their smarts at the 70th Annual Northern Minnesota Regional Science Fair at Bemidji State University on Friday.
After two years of virtual fairs, the in-person event returned to the Beaux Arts Ballroom where gadgets, posters and hypotheses abounded.
“There’s a host of challenges (with virtual fairs). You don’t get the interactions, the fun projects, no free snacks,” BSU professor and science fair director Kjerstin Owens said lightheartedly, “so we’re really excited to be back on campus.”
Stationed at their projects, students met with volunteer judges — community members, BSU students, faculty and administration — to explain the scientific method of their selected topic.
Dressed to the nines, Lincoln High School senior Isaac Mauch presented his project, “Studying the Practicality of Biofertilizer use in Agriculture,” an area of research he has conducted for six years.
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“I’ve been studying dry beans since seventh grade, just many different aspects of them,” Mauch said. “This year I’m exploring whether biofertilizer can help increase dry bean yield.”
Mauch has tentative plans to attend North Dakota State University for precision agriculture and biotechnology, interests that have been informed by his experiences throughout middle school and high school science fairs.
“We’ll see where that takes me,” Mauch added. “It’s been a journey and I hope to continue something like this in the future.”
Donning their white laboratory coats, Grand Rapids High School students and brother-sister combo Paige and Adam Jacobson presented their project, “Radiation Cessation.”
The pair created a cloud chamber to observe background radiation coming from everyday objects and also measured the radiation levels of over 200 objects using a Geiger counter.
Being a brother-sister team, Paige feels like she never really gets away from the science fair when she’s at home and Adam wants to practice or research something for their project.
“I think it’s mostly beneficial. It’s fun to have your partner be your brother. I can yell at him and tell him what he did wrong,” Paige said with a laugh, “and he can’t disown me.”
St. Philip’s Catholic School seventh-grader Kristen Sandmeyer presented, “Bad Beef,” which looked at how long various beef samples stayed fresh in different containers.
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As her first time participating in the science fair, Sandmeyer wanted to pick a project that meant something to her.
“I’m a farmer, I have cattle of my own and I want to own the (family) ranch one day,” Sandmeyer said.
Owens noted that student numbers are down from previous fairs because of curricular changes in middle school science courses and many schools no longer having a science fair coordinator.
For any student whose school doesn’t have a science fair, Owens encourages them to reach out if they want to compete individually.
“(Science fairs) are really great for their communication skills and their creative thinking,” Owens left off. “I really hope that it fosters their love of science, and that starts at an early age.”
Results
In the end, the senior high science fair winners were:
- Gold medal: Isaac Mauch from Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls.
- Silver medal: Paige and Adam Jacobson from Grand Rapids High School.
And the middle school winners included:
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- Gold medal: Ellie Hahn from Robert J. Elkington Middle School in Grand Rapids.
- Silver medal: Blake Nelson from Newfolden Elementary School.
- Bronze medal: Evo Miltich from Robert J. Elkington Middle School in Grand Rapids.
- Honorable mention: Ella Leffelman from Bemidji Middle School.
Four other middle school exhibitors earned purple ribbons including Aaron McMullen, Clay Wenzel, Cora Metelak and Bodie Felosi from Robert J. Elkington Middle School.
These students will now advance to the Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair on Friday, March 24, at the RiverCentre in St. Paul. From there, students can earn a spot at the Regeneron International State and Engineering Fair on May 13-19 in Dallas, Texas.
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