Sussex Science Fair highlights area students

Beacon Middle eighth-grader Douglas Heid had a sweet idea for his science fair project.

Using two chocolate bars, a Hershey bar and a Lindt chocolate bar, Heid swapped labels, and set out to see whether consumers could tell the difference between the brands.

Lindt chocolate did get the highest ratings, but Hershey wasn't far behind.

“People weren't necessarily deceived, but they had their personal preferences,” Douglas said.

This is the first year Douglas competed in the 25th annual Sussex County Science Fair, and he said he was glad to be there.

“It's fun to make the experiments and see everyone else's and learn something new,” Douglas said.

More than 100 students from 13 schools participated in the March 6 event held at Delaware Technical Community College in Georgetown.

Beacon eighth-grader Lee Hoffman decided to test a milk-based material called casein to see if it could be used to replace water bottles made of plastic known as PET – a chemical compound that can leach toxins into water or other food stored inside.

Hoffman said he chose casein as a possible alternative to PET because it was a popular item in the 1930s and 1940s used to make jewelry and belt buckles.

“That was my hypothesis, but I disproved that because it's porous,” said Lee.

He said he plans to continue experiments with casein, trying to condense it and make it anti-absorbent.

Across the aisle from Lee, classmate William Hickman presented a plan to protect apples from bruising. He used a miniature apple tree equipped with a conveyer belt to cushion an apple's fall before guiding the product into a bin for collection.

William said he's interested in animal science, and he wanted to do a study on big and little dogs, but he chose the apple project instead.

“I couldn't think of anything to test with an animal,” he said with a smile.

Beacon eighth-grader Nina Gracie had talked to 10 judges and U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester by the time the science fair was halfway over. “It's a great experience,” Nina said.

An interest in neuroscience propelled her experiment, which examined how different scents affected short-term memory. Nina used peppermint, vanilla and a set of numbers to quiz fellow students and gauge their memory.

“Overall, students who smelled peppermint had better results,” she said. “It shows peppermint is a good brain stimulant.”

2017 Sussex Science Fair Winners

Sixth grade – First place, Dylan Thomas, Jefferson School, Hit the books; second place, Kalei Chowdhry, Jefferson School, She shoots, she scores; honorable mention, Emily Cruz-Maria, Millsboro Middle, Life saving plants; honorable mention, Ashley Masters, Lighthouse Christian, Will it slow the flow?

Seventh grade – First place, Molly Dopler, Sussex Academy, Plant Pharm – Do nutritional supplements entering the environment affect plant growth?; second place, Gianna Voges, Sussex Academy, Bill Nye was right, you guys; third place, Yuhki Saleff, Millsboro Middle, Do different types of soil affect the pH of water?

Eighth grade Physics and Chemistry – First place, Gabrielle McCormick, Sussex Academy, What's up with your water?; second place, Sydney Doel, Mariner Middle, How does precipitation affect water quality?; third place, Gannon Webb, Sussex Academy, Deflate gate

Eighth grade Life Sciences – First place, F.X. Patterson, Sussex Academy, The effect of electric current on the growth of basil plants; second place, Lucas Gonzalez, Mariner Middle, Natural anti-bacterial substances vs. bacteria cultured from raw hamburger; third place, Madison Holt, Sussex Academy, Characteristics of coastal plants to reduce the most beach erosion; honorable mention, Melanie Fritchman, Beacon Middle, Simply green; honorable mention, Andrew McGurk, Mariner Middle, More water or less?

Eighth grade Behavioral/social/consumer/health – First place, Else Leebel, Sussex Academy, Taking a time out from social media; second place, Emma Kuska, Sussex Academy, The effect of light intensity on color recognition in the peripheral field of vision; third place, Shamar Snead, Mariner Middle, Think fast; honorable mention, Charlotte Miller, Beacon Middle, It's too loud; honorable mention, Tess DeBastiani, Sussex Academy, The effect of gender on visual processing

Eighth grade Engineering and Computer Science – First place, Ensar Arslan, Sussex Academy, Robotic glove project; second place, Trent Sapna, Sussex Academy, Water works; third place, Edward Yu, Sussex Academy, Up, up and away; honorable mention, John Masters, Lighthouse Christian, Say sayonara to salt

Grades 11 and 12 – First place, Magdalena Limon-Gutierrez, Woodbridge High School, Safety without restraint; second place, Honorio Torres, Woodbridge High School, Bicycle helmets and their protections from concussion

Special awards – American Association of University Women: $100 to Emma Kuska, Tess DeBastiani and Ensar Arlsan, all from Sussex Academy; $50 to Gabriella Orsini, Sussex Academy, and Melanie Fritchman and Lee Hoffman, both from Beacon Middle

Delaware Biotechnology Institute: Sara Deason, Geneva Academy

Delaware Center for the Inland Bays: Molly Dopler, Sussex Academy

Dow Chemical Award: Ensar Arslan, Sussex Academy

DNREC: Emily Cruz-Maria, Millsboro Middle; Molly Dopler and F.X. Patterson, both of Sussex Academy.

Delaware Technical and Community College: Else Leebel, Sussex Academy

ILC Dover Engineering Award: Ensar Arslan, Sussex Academy; John Masters, Lighthouse Christian; Camille Bello, Millsboro Middle; Edward Yu, Sussex Academy; Connor Camiolo, Sussex Academy; and Olivia Austin, Austin Academy

Tidewater Utilities: Gabrielle McCormick and Trent Sapna, both of Sussex Academy, and Melanie Ceylan of Millsboro Middle