Van Horn Scientists Displaying Projects at Union Station March 11-14
Several budding young scientists from Van Horn High School are putting their expertise on display during the 64th Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair at Union Station March 11-14. They earned the honor by winning a grand prize trophy or division medal during the third annual Van Horn Science and Engineering Fair inside the school’s Little Theater.
“Students conducted long-term independent research projects on topics like behavioral science, engineering, computer science, math, chemistry, biology and inventions,” said Debbie Cox, Van Horn science teacher and Science Fair sponsor. “Students wrote a paper on their findings and presented their materials at the fair.” Students were then interviewed by a panel of five judges.
Grand Prize winners were:
First Place- Mirinda Holthe for her invention project, “The Development and Analysis of a Biodegradable Valve Oil for Musical Instruments.”
Second Place- Lauren Hopkins for her mathematics project, “Predicting Frequency Using Benford’s and Zipf’s Laws: Does Randomness Exist?”
Third Place- Arianny Pujols and Naomi Kroeger for their zoology project, “Counteracting the Effects of Perchlorate Pollutants on Daphnia magna Using Non-Toxic Antioxidants.”
Division Medals were awarded to:
Behavioral Science Division: Mallory Kneece and Elizabeth Terry, “The Study of Zodiac Sun Signs and Character Traits.”
Chemistry Division: Logan Putthoff, “Preparation and Purification of Potassium Chlorate.”
Earth & Space Science Division: Jonathan Diaz, “Determining the Center of the Milky Way Galaxy Using Globular Clusters and Google Earth.”
Engineering Division: Chase Wilburn and Destany Williamson, “The Development of an Electromagnetic Self-Charging Cell Phone Case.”
Environmental Science Division: Raymond Kistner, “The Determination of Phosphate and Nitrate Levels in Water Samples.”
Matter & Energy Division: Trevor Clay, “The Determination of the Optimal Ratio of a Fluorescent Sensitizer Dye and Catalyst for the Oxidation of Luminol.”
Molecular Biology Division: Destiny Walcott, “The Effect of Varying Buffer Concentrations on the Rate of Migration in Electrophoresis.”
Projects will be on display for public viewing at Union Station March 12 from noon- 5 p.m. and March 13 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.sciencepioneers.org.
Front row (left to right): Lauren Hopkins, Mirinda Holthe, Naomi Kroeger and Arianny Pujols. Middle row: Trevor Clay, Destany Williamson, Destany Walcott and Elizabeth Terry. Back row: Logan Putthoff, Chase Wilburn, Mallory Kneece and Raymond Kistner. Science Fair Sponsor: Debbie Cox, science teacher