Students who received a Superior rating in the Lawrence County Science Fair are honored at an awards event at Ohio University Southern on Tuesday. (Heath Harrison | The Ironton Tribune)
Awards took place at Ohio University Southern
Winners of the Lawrence County Science Fair were honored Tuesday at a reception at Ohio University Southern.
The fair, which is organized by the Lawrence County ESC, took place on Feb. 10 and was open to fifth through eighth graders.
Coming in first place was Caleb Black, an eighth grader from Chesapeake Middle School, for his project, “Which Bridge Design Will Flex Least?’
Black earned a perfect score of 40 from the judges, and Gretta Taylor, student services coordinator for the ESC, who organizes the event, said they were “blown away” by Black’s presentation.
“I tested three different bridge designs – the truss bridge, the arch bridge, the truss bridge and the beam bridge,” Black, who has competed in the science fair for years, said of his project.
He said he hypothesized that the truss bridge would be strongest, as it is comprised of triangles.
“They are the strongest shapes found in nature,” he said, citing the Triangle Inequality Theorem, which he said states “Any two given sides of triangle must add up to number greater than third side.”
For his project, Black built small, 10-inch replicas of each bridge type, made from popsicle sticks and tested the with weights, beginning at 100 grams and then, increasing by increments, up to 1,000 grams.
He said he used a dial indicator, typically used with pistons, to measure things precisely.
He found that his results matched his hypothesis.
The truss bridge did indeed perform the best,” he said.
Second place in the fair went to Cameron large, a seventh grader at Dawson-Bryant Middle School, for her project on tooth decay. Third place was a tie between two team projects — Zeke Joy and Cohen Adkins, fifth graders at South Point Elementary School for their project, “Heart Pounding Fun,” and Xavier Butcher and Matthew Shaffer, fifth graders at Burlington Elementary School, for “Does Temperature Affect the Growth of Sugar Crystals?”
Rounding out the top five were Adalyn Black, of Chesapeake Middle School’s sixth grade, in fourth place for “What Ingredients Give You the Best Bake?” and fifth place went to the team of Athena Coffman and Kyree Mason, of South Point Elementary School’s fifth grade, for “Pennies in Different Liquids.”
SUPERIOR RATINGS
Students who earned a Superior rating, meaning a score between 36-40 points from judges were: Rooney Hall, Piper Davidson, Connor Bressler, Caleb Black, Adalyn Black, Brynlee Andrus,
Lawrence County ESC student services coordinator Gretta Taylor had each science fair winner introduce themselves and talk about their project at an awards event at Ohio University Southern on Tuesday.
Cameron Large, Gracie Hunter, Team: Xavier Butcher and Matthew Shaffer, Jordan Webb, Team: Zeke Joy and Cohen Adkins and Team: Athena Coffman and Kyree Mason.
EXCELLENT RATINGS:
Students who earned a Superior rating, meaning a score between 24-35 points from judges were: Mila Castle and Jazmine Wilson, Jase Adkins, Kaylee Zinzow, Mason Runion, Eliza Ross, Jasper Neal, Kendall Moore, Team: Elijah McComas and Mason Hall, Milania Maynard, Joseph Keffer, Hali Hansen, Meela Gahm, Ezra Dingus, Hattie Dillom, Lilli Coffey, Team: Olivia Brandt and Bailey Haye, Hadley Wise, Luke Vanderhoof, Blayne Thompson, Hayven Taylor, Blake Russell, Lukas Roberts, Braxton Markins, Brighton Hankins, Olivia Crank, Addison Blagg, Harmony Steele, Jaycee Webb, Donovan Spears, Sadie Short, Gwyn Percy, Beaylee Haney, Team: Cash Early and Jaden Young, Jared Davis, Team: Jory MacArthur and Jackson Littleholes, Team: Mila Tabor and Mia Carter, Team: Paxtyn Rickman and Zoey Leonard, Team: Darion Moretto and Jordan Ingles, Team: Chance Johnson and Harper Johnson, Ava Hannah, Presley Eaches, GloryAnn Brown and Jaxson Bailey.
GOOD RATINGS:
Students who earned a Good rating were: Addison Boggs, Braxton Malone, Liam Kellogg, Madasyn Duncan and Isabella Thompson.
CATEGORY AWARDS:
5th and 6th Grade
Engineering Mechanics: Mason Runion
Energy: Physical: Piper Davidson
Materials Science: Lilli Coffey
Plant Science: Ezra Dingus
Behavioral and Social Sciences: Jasper Neal
Animal Science: GloryAnn Brown
Biomedical and health science: TIE: Rooney Hall and Team: Zeke Joy and Cohen Adkins
Chemistry: Team: Xavier Butcher and Matthew Shaffer
Physics and Astronomy: Team: Chance Johnson and Harper Johnson
Microbiology: Presley Eaches
Biochemistry: Isabella Thompson
Environmental Engineering: Joseph Keffer
7th and 8th Grade
Engineering Mechanics: Caleb Black
Energy: Chemical: Lukas Roberts
Energy: Physical: Team: Elijah McComas and Mason Hall
Materials Science: Gracie Hunter
Plant Science: Addison Blagg
Behavioral and Social Sciences: Mila Castle and Jazmine Wilson
Earth and Environmental Sciences: Blake Russell
Chemistry: Cameron Large
Physics and Astronomy: Braxton Markins
Energy: Chemical: Olivia Crank
Microbiology: Team: Olivia Brandt and Bailey Haye
Environmental Engineering: Blayne Thomson