Originally published in The Vidette-Messenger of Porter County on March 19, 1976
Tops In County’s Science Fair
By RUTH ANN McWHORTER
MALDEN ー Students from five of the six townships in the county school system won first place awards at the County Elementary Science Fair held at Morgan Township School Thursday.
First place winners included, from kindergarten to sixth grade; Matthew Thomas, Morgan Township, whose exhibit proved that plants need light (the ones in the dark died); Timmy Albrecht, Kouts, whose exhibit by Dawn Radice and Christi Sowder, Boone Grove, whose exhibit also investigated the properties of air; Bruce Snow, Kouts, who investigated oldtime and modern cleansing agents; Barbara Nadolski, Washington Township, who found that a plant would grow better under a white light bulb than under a colored bulb; joint exhibit by Amy Ehrhardt and Kim Lyon, Union Center, who found that water is not the only substance that can be used to extinguish fires; and a joint exhibit by Julie Herma and Michelle Wallace, Kouts, with an exhibit on how genetics affects one’s ability to roll one’s tongue.
In the class projects, winner in the primary division was project of Union Center second grade class of Kathleen Glenn (blue room) which investigated “what is hibernating under the snow?” Winner is the intermediate division was Kouts sixth grade class taught by Lia Ann McCormick, whose class investigated whether there are differences in brands of gasoline.
The Kouts class, which includes 23 students, did a lot of research on oil and gas products prior to beginning their exhibit, reported science teacher Gerald Gearhart. The students learned that the more refined oil products are, the more they evaporate (as an example, asphalt, which is at the bottom of the refinement process, evaporates very little). As a consequence, the students believed that the beter gas, which is more refined, would evaporate faster.
For their experiment, the class divided regular grade gas into categories of expensive (more than 55.9 cents a gallon), medium (53.9 to 55.9 cents) and cheap (less than 53.9 cents a gallon).
They found that, on the average, the expensive gas evaporated faster, and was thus better refined and more combustible, and also gave better mileage in their lawnmower. Gearhard said the class worked on the project for more than a month.
Award for the outstanding class project went to the Union Center sixth grade class of Robert J. Bobos, which found that charcoal produced the most ash, of about 33 substances burned by the class.
Outstanding individual exhibits were by Boone Grove students Karin Herrick and Vincent Regan. First grader Karin investigated how the spinning of a top is influenced by different factors (attachment of paper clips, pastings protruding slips of paper to the top, and by spinning it on a rough surface ー sandpaper). Vincent explained in an elaborate exhibit why fuses are important.
Second place ribbons at the fair were awarded to Mark Sinar, Boone Grove, first grade; Matt Maxwell, Boone Grove, second grade; Arthur Womack, Union Center, third grade; and Brad Wandrey and Greg Yergler, Kouts, sixth grade.
Class projects receiving second place were second grade Kouts class of Janet Robertson and fourth grade Union Center class of Marilyn Dodrill.
Third place awards went to Jennifer Herma, Kouts, first grade; Jan Herma; Kouts, second grade; Mary Jo Knoblock, Boone Grove, third grade; Kathleen Fitzgerald, Boone Grove, fourth grade; and Vincent Lazar, Boone Grove, sixth grade.
Third place class exhibits were both from Kouts ー second grade taught by Sue Ann Pickard and fifth grade taught by Gloria Nightingale.
Project of Union Center sixth grade class taught by Robert J. Bobos was judged outstanding class project at Porter County Schools Elementary Science Fair held at Morgan Township School Thursday. Luann Jipping (left) and Allan Jones (right) accepted plaque for their class. Trash can incinerator in foreground of photo is part of class exhibit, in which various materials were burned to determine which created the greatest amount of ash. Purple ribbons for outstanding individual student projects at fair were awarded to (sitting) Karin Herrick, first grade, and Vincent Regan, fifth grade, both of Boone Grove School.