by Julie Mueller, Garretson Middle School
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and additional science fair awards were a nice surprise! 15 of the 25 students who qualified for the 67th Eastern South Dakota Science and Engineering Fair held on the SDSU Campus, Brookings, South Dakota on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, earned awards this year.
Serie Risty, daughter of Dustin and Kara Risty was awarded Honorable Mention for her project “The Bit Fit For Speed” in the Animal Science Jr. Division.
Gracie Fiegen, daughter of Tad and Brenda Fiegen, received an Honorable Mention in the Jr. Division of Chemistry/Biochemistry with her project “Which Detergent Works to Remove Stains the Best?” Brooklyn Trudeau, daughter of Chris Trudeau and Heather Trudeau, also earned an Honorable Mention in the same category with her project “Does the Color of a Candle Affect the Burn Rate?”
Cole Schleuter, son of Jay and Holly Schleuter, earned first place honors in the Earth and Environmental Science Junior Division. Schleuter’s project “Soil Makeup” involved analyzing soil samples taken from different parts of a field to determine soil type. This award earned Schleuter a medal and a $50.00 cash prize. He also received a Certificate of Outstanding Achievement from the South Dakota Academy of Science and a $25.00 cash prize. Schleuter was also nominated for the Broadcom Masters competition which goes only to the top ten percent of the students at any recognized science fair.
Michael Hanisch, son of Chad and Rachel Hansich, received an Honorable Mention award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers - SD Chapter for his project “From Trash to Gas”.
Participating in the Energy and Transportation Category was Reece Connelly, son of Travis Connelly and Shelbey Slendy. Connelly received an Honorable Mention for his project “Can a RC Truck be Powered by Solar Power?” He also received Honorable Mentions from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers - SD Chapter, NASA EARTH System Science, SDN Communication Award, and an award medal from the Office of Naval Research.
In the Jr. Food Science Division, Carter Siemonsma, son of Brian and Katie Simeonsma, earned an Honorable Mention with his “Brown Fruit?’ while Breanna Reker, daughter of Ryan and Amie Reker, did as well with “Temperature vs. Yeast”.
In the Medicine and Health Jr. Jayda Snedeker, daughter of Jon and Jessica Snedeker, earned a Honorable Mention and received the SDSU Medical Lab Science Club award which includes a $50.00 cash prize. Her project was titled “What Substances Can Cause False Positive Kastle-Meyer Test Results?”
Chloe Hermanson, daughter of Andrew and Sara Hermanson, earned a Certificate of Outstanding Achievement from the SDSU Jerome J Lohr College of Engineering, Hermanson’s physics project “Soak It Up With Wood” looked at how different types of woods handled moisture. This award included a $50.00 SDSU Bookstore Giftcard. Hermanson also received an Honorable Mention in the Jr. Division of Physics and Astronomy. Austin Graff, son of Jay and Jessi Graff, received a Certificate of Outstanding Achievement from the South Dakota Academy of Science for his project “Hydraulic Pressures”. Graff looked at how viscosity affected hydraulic pressures. This award included a $25.00 cash prize. Graff also received an Honorable Mention for his Physics and Astronomy project and the NASA Earth System Science award. A number of Honorable Mentions were received in the Physics and Astronomy division. Others earning the award were Alyssa Garcia, daughter of Sonya Miller and Joshua Garcia, did with her project “The Perfect Parachute”; Madison Waltman, daughter of Patrick and Jessie Waltman, with her project “Centripetal Force Board”; and Collin Olson, so of Angela and Tony Olson, with his project “Which Paper Towel Brand is Most Absorbent?”
In the Plant Science Jr. Emma Wolf, daughter of Maia and Jason Wolf, received Honorable Mention with her project “Plants vs Water Type”. Wolf also received an Honorable Mention from the South Dakota Water Environment Association.
Julie Mueller, Garretson MIddle School Science, was awarded the Spirit of Science Award for dedication to science and her students.
Editor's Note: In last week's issue of the Gazette, the label for Cole Schleuter was placed further to the right than it should have been, potentially giving the impression of identifying a different student. Schleuter is the first student on the left in the photo. We regret this error!
