Skip to content

Stettler’s budding scientists exhibit science-fair projects

The Grade 5 Science Fair Club proudly presented 30 projects for public viewing last Friday

The Grade 5 Science Fair Club proudly presented 30 projects for public viewing last Friday at the Stettler Elementary School’s 14th annual science fair.

“We are pleased with the quality of the projects our students have prepared,” said Grade 5 science teacher Rob Howell.

“They have been busily working on them since November. The students have learned and applied the scientific method and used technology to produce a wide variety of different projects.”

The varied projects from 52 students provided interesting, useful and sometimes surprising results.

Madison Tucker and Mignione Vogel’s project, called “Sugar High,” researched the question, “Does candy raise blood pressure?”

The girls tested six kinds of candy on each of their six family members or friends.

Vogel said her sister had done a similar test using caffeine and they wondered what affect candy might have on blood pressure.

“We thought it would raise it,” Tucker said.

She said they were “surprised” when it didn’t.

“Five kinds actually lowered blood pressure and only one raised it,” Vogel said.

The project for Wade Smith and David Zondag was “Battery Durability.”

They tested six brands of batteries to see which batteries would last the longest, and they incorporated price analysis.

“The most expensive battery was the worst,” Zondag said.

“The cheapest came in third,” Smith added.

The best performing battery lasted three hours, compared to the worst at one hour and 17 minutes. Madison Imbery and Zayna Lynch’s project, “Germ Detectives,” tested which animal or human had the cleanest mouth.

Imbury said they went to the veterinary clinic to swab mouths and cultured them in an incubator for 24 hours.

“The cleanest mouth was the horses,” Lynch said.

A result the girls found somewhat shocking was the human mouth had the highest amount of bacteria.

“There was too many to even count,” Imbery said.

Howell and fellow science teachers Stefan Olafson and Katy Syson assisted the students with their projects during club time.

“We met as a club twice a week over a 10-week period,” Howell said.

The top 12 projects were selected to compete in the grades 5 and 6 category for the Central Alberta Regional Science Fair. That event is scheduled for March 15 and 16 at the Bower Place Mall in Red Deer.

The top 12 SES projects advancing to regional competition are:

Sizzling Light —Cassidy Braun and Kadyen Hushagen

Did You See What I See? — Morgan Bengert

Ghost Power — Darby Strohschein and Alycia Peterson

Shred it Up — Damon Tanton and Wil Brennan

Battery Durability —Wade Smith and David Zondag

What’s your Burger? — Rogan Geddes and Ryan Shirley

According to Research — Taiga Thorsteinson and Aspen Norman

Boys or Girls? — Rhys Shepherd and JJ Llorin

Germ Detectives — Madison Imbery and Zayna Lynch

Sugar High — Mignione Vogel and Madison Tucker

Protection for You — Kevin Missikewitz and Claude Anderson

Distracted Driving — Curtis Myshaniuk and Gerson Gamponia

“Our school has enjoyed success at this competition, of the best grades 5 and 6 projects in central Alberta, including two first-place finishes in the past five years,” Howell said.

“We look forward to this excellent competition again this year.”