UC District Science Fair Draws Big Crowds on a Rainy Saturday

Only in its second year, UC’s Southwest Ohio District Science & Engineering Expo is showing increasing success and growth. The 364 student projects were up by more than 100 over last year, plus, the March 11 district fair on UC’s campus gained six additional schools and nearly tripled the amount of awards and prizes from 2005.

“We thank you for your creativity and interesting projects,” said committee chair Tom Cruse at the afternoon awards ceremony. “We think all of you are winners and we encourage you to pursue your interest in science.”

Mary Flick, the mother of 13-year-old Krysten Flick who was representing Monroe Local School at the fair, was one of the parents who brought along another child to explore the science-related activities in Tangeman University Center.  “He’s already broken a rose,” Mary said of her son, 12-year old Doug Flick, as she referred to the liquid nitrogen dip at the hands-on physics demonstration. “He thinks that’s cool. He told me to videotape it.”

“I think there are a fairly wide range of activities here and I think that’s a good idea,” said Nancy Laub, whose 12-year-old daughter Holly was representing All Saints School in the Great Hall contest. “I like that the fair is designed to make science look fun, particularly to smaller children who may not really know what science is yet. These exhibits could grab their interest in science.”

“Look at it dance now,” said Jim Allen, a PhD candidate in civil engineering, as he operated the “shake table” at the

Project STEP

“Movers and Shakers” exhibit. Using straws, pipe cleaners and fasteners, visitors could build their own structures, strap them to the machine, and see just how much shaking they could withstand in the earthquake simulation. Project STEP (short for Science Technology Enhancement Program) is an initiative between the College of Engineering and the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services that recruits UC students with backgrounds in engineering, science, math and education to promote science-related initiatives in the local public schools.

UC alum Mark Redmond’s son, Brian, was competing in the science fair for St. Columban School, and Mark brought along nine-year-old daughter Nicola and Irene Whitaker, whose sister Theresa was also having her poster judged in the Great Hall. “None of this was here when I was here (as a student at UC), Mark said, as he remarked on the transformation of TUC as part of the MainStreet corridor. “I’m interested in getting a tour of the Rec Center.” After taking a ride on the Hovercraft, the girls were off to the live animal demonstration hosted by the Cincinnati Zoo.

“This is called the Bearded Dragon and they’re from Australia,” explained zoo handler Penny Jarrett. “They have these spines, so if they want to defend themselves, they blow up the spines and it looks like they have a beard all around them.” The hedgehog, a nocturnal animal, appeared to want to continue its nap, but it did briefly open its eyes and take a look at the young fans.

Up in the Great Hall, Waynesville High School senior Katie Mackoway was pitching her “What’s Poppin’” project to the judges, analyzing room temperatures and water content on the success of popping every kernel. “Amazingly, the freezer popcorn came out with the lowest water content,” she said, after comparing corn popped at room temperature and un-popped kernels set up by a space heater. “The room temperature pops 100 percent, which supported my hypothesis.”

Fairfield Middle School’s Sugit Ganguly says his idea on whether caffeine affected pulse rate came about after a friend loaded up on pop at a party. Katie Bachus and Karina Kurzhals, both eighth graders at St. Jude in Bridgetown, took second place at their local science fair with their project, “Does Your Shampoo Pass the Ph Test?”

“The judges asked us a lot of good questions and that makes us want to further our research,” said Karina.

Preceding the awards ceremony at Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center was keynote speaker James E. West, a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, who co-patented the electret microphone, now used in 90-percent of today’s communication devices such as cell phones and cordless phones, iPods and Blackberries.

Master of Ceremonies Thane Maynard of the Cincinnati Zoo brought along Eddie Annal of the Cincinnati Zoo’s Wings of Wonder Bird Show, who introduced Rio, a Hyacinth Macaw – the largest parrot in the world. “They come from the rain forest in Brazil and it’s a highly endangered bird,” Maynard explained. Annal said Rio, just three years old, was hatched at the zoo.

The Saturday fair was staffed by 100 faculty and 100 staff volunteers as well as 140 UC student volunteers to guide visitors to the exhibition in the Great Hall and science-themed presentations across campus. The fair had 30 sponsors, including a donation of 192 umbrellas from Totes, which came in handy for the volunteers on a very rainy Saturday.

View the list of students who received superior ratings

View the list of special awards