Mid-Ohio Valley students compete in regional science fair | News, Sports, Jobs

Milea Mielbach, a seventh-grader at Ravenswood Middle School, speaks with judge Candice Lewis at the Regional Science and Technology Fair held Friday at the Grand Point Conference Center. Mielbach’s project concerned growing plants in different soils. She said she has concluded that topsoil taken from the garden is more effective than store-bought soil. (Photo courtesy of Douglas Huxley)

VIENNA — 51 projects by 64 students from five counties were on display Friday at the Grand Point Conference Center at the Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

One of those projects is “The influence of soil on plant growth!” By Milea Mielbach, 7th grader at Ravenswood Middle School.

“It really opened my eyes to how nutrients affect plants and how they grow.” Mielbach said. “Now I’m going to focus on how to fertilize my soil.”

Mielbach conducted experiments to test how yellow squash plants grow in different types of soil. She hypothesized that potting soil is the best way to grow potted plants. But the results showed that plants grew faster and healthier in topsoil collected from students’ gardens. In topsoil she grew 5 cm in 3 weeks, but in potting soil she only grew 1.5 cm.

Mielbach said her father was an agriculture teacher and was a big influence on her project.

Ripley High School students Jayden Goosman and Easton Hale address judge Jason Potts Friday at the Regional Science and Engineering Fair at the Grand Point Conference Center. Their project was titled “Studying the influence of body weight and spine on velocity” and looked at how this affected arrow flight. (Photo courtesy of Douglas Huxley)

“Now that I’m older, he’s really taught me a lot.” Mielbach said. “And he taught me how nutrients affect the growth of plants, and even the growth of the animals they feed.”

As in her garden, nutrients already present in the topsoil from decomposing plant and animal waste support better growth, she said. She said she would like to add additional experiments to test other types of soil, such as clay and sand. Other factors that can affect plant growth should also be investigated, such as weather, soil properties and climate, she said.

“We know so much about how plants grow, and that’s very interesting to me.” Mielbach said.

Edison Middle School seventh-grader Ainsley Koleski asked if the length of the string affected the number of swings a pendulum made in a minute.

Mr. Cholesky cut three strings into lengths of 16 cm, 26 cm, and 36 cm, attached washers to each end, and dropped them at a 45-degree angle to see how many swings each string could make in a minute. She concluded that the long string took her 87 swings, the medium length string took her 70 swings, and the smallest string took her 52 swings.

Ripley High School students Jayden Goosman and Easton Hale address judge Jason Potts Friday at the Regional Science and Engineering Fair at the Grand Point Conference Center. Their project was titled “Studying the influence of body weight and spine on velocity” and looked at how this affected arrow flight. (Photo courtesy of Douglas Huxley)

“I was really surprised by that gap.” Kolesky said.

She said this kind of experimentation is important for engineering and science jobs and that she likes public speaking. She has wanted to be a lawyer since she was young and she enjoys discussing different opinions and ideas.

“In elementary school, we used to do something called debate.We had two kids each take their own position and debate against the other in front of the class.I love debate because it’s so much fun. is.” Kolesky said. “I love debating and talking with people about different opinions and ideas, and pitting each other against each other over it. I find it very interesting to see both sides of a situation.”

Ripley High School students Easton Heil and Jayden Gusman completed the following project: “Study of the influence of body weight and spine on speed” This project investigated the kinetic energy of an arrow and how factors such as the arrow’s spine affect its ability to fly.

“The main focus of the experiment was the spine.” Mr. Gusman said. “The spine of an arrow, its bend, all arrows bend. It’s called the Archer’s Paradox.”

“Just a Swingin’!” That was the science project exhibited by Edison Middle School seventh-grader Ainsley Koleski at the Regional Science and Technology Fair held Friday at the Grand Point Conference Center. (Photo courtesy of Douglas Huxley)

Heil and Gooseman were both avid hunters, he said. They said the experiment was important because arrow spines affect the ability to humanely kill animals such as deer while hunting.

“If you don’t have enough kinetic energy when you shoot an arrow, it either won’t penetrate all the way, or it won’t penetrate enough to kill you ethically.” Heil said. “So you need plenty of kinetic energy.”

The pair said their hunting is about more than just killing. Both believe deer hunting and population management is important for maintaining the animals and providing food for local communities through meat donations. They also said that patience and preparation are important aspects of the sport, and that they see bowhunting as a way to spend time in nature and find peace.

“It’s about getting outside and spending time in nature.” Heil said.

Gusman said it was an escape from everyday stress.

Edison Middle School seventh-grader Ainsley Koleski demonstrates how to use a 45-degree angle to test how quickly a tethered washer loses momentum. Cholesky said the longer strings would start to slow down first, and he was surprised by the results. (Photo courtesy of Douglas Huxley)

“I just sit outside and listen to the birds chirping and everything happens around me.” Gusman said.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com.

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Edison Middle School seventh-grader Ainsley Kolesky received her championship ribbon and medal from event coordinator Kayla Brown at the Regional Science and Technology Fair held Friday at the Grand Point Conference Center. Koleski won first place in the physics and astrology category for his project “Just A Swingin!” (Photo courtesy of Douglas Huxley)

Milea Mielbach, a seventh-grader at Ravenswood Middle School, received a second-place ribbon from event coordinator Kayla Brown on Friday at the Regional Science and Technology Fair held at the Grand Point Conference Center. Mielbach’s project concerned growing plants in different soils. She said she has concluded that topsoil taken from the garden is more effective than store-bought soil. (Photo courtesy of Douglas Huxley)

Ripley High School students Easton Hale and Jayden Gooseman received first-place medals and ribbons from event coordinator Kayla Brown at the Regional Science and Technology Fair held Friday at the Grand Point Conference Center. The two will advance to the state level with a project called “Studying the Effects of Body Weight and Spine on Speed.” (Photo courtesy of Douglas Huxley)

A group of Jackson County students, including Milea Mielbach, a seventh-grader from Ravenswood Middle School, second from left in the back row, and Jayden Gusman and Easton Hale, students from Ripley High School, back row, right, are pictured after the regional competition. Photo taken Friday at the Science and Technology Fair held at the Grand Point Conference Center. A total of 51 projects by his 64 students from five counties were on display, with winners advancing to his West Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair in March. (Photo courtesy of Douglas Huxley)