Michael Rosenthal
(12/2021) The Mother Seton School STEM Fair was held, and overcoming the problems of the pandemic, it was, as always, a wonderful presentation of student science work. The presentations, as in previous years, consisted of a hypothesis, the materials utilized in the experimental work, the procedures undertaken, the observations, the data obtained, and the conclusions derived from the study. A journal is kept which is also presented illustrating the results obtained. The projects are judged by community members with scientific background, including some Mother Seton graduates.
The winners and the titles of the projects are listed as follows:
6th Grade: First place was won by Ellie Rajaski who studied water resistance in fabrics. Second place was won by Grady Abruzzese who explored soil testing. Third place was won by Gwyneth Yanike and Jordan Wright who explored the watering of plants with different liquids. Honorable mention went to Noah Riling who studied guinea pigs in a maze, to determine whether treats help them learn. What an amazing start I find it to be for 6th graders to study experimental science in such a professional way. Each year I am amazed all over again at the professionality of the presentations.
7th Grade: First place was won by Emma and Sarah Simmons for an Equine Nebulizer Invention. Second place was won by Abigail Field and Vivian Lewis for their Solar Oven Invention. Third place was awarded to Ruby Bodner for a newly designed six-pack holder which is eco-friendly, in contrast to the plastic holders commonly in use which remain a serious source of landfill pollution. Honorable Mention was awarded to Catherine Griffin and Vivienne Storch for a study of dog treats.
8th Grade: First place was won by Maryn Rajaski and Catarina Hatch for the development of water testing using daphnia. (daphnia is a genus of small planktonic crustaceans sometimes known as water fleas). Second place was won by Sophia Erdman for a study of chicken egg fertilization. Third place was won by Grace and Mason Hewitt for a study of the best substances for killing germs and by Maggie Rabaiotti for a study of worm composting.
Now for the big news: the Best in Show winners! The Best in Show-Experiment went to Maryn Rajaski and Catarina Hatc, while the Best in Show-Invention was awarded to Emma and Sarah Simmons.
As I’ve written in prior years, I’ve never see this level of scientific sophistication at these educational levels. I have no memory whatsoever of my science studies in grades 1-6, though I had kind and efficient teachers in 1950’s Youngstown, Ohio (also known as Crimetown, USA!). Though my junior high and high school science teachers were generally friendly and competent, I was not really inspired to a career in science until I studied chemistry in my high school senior year under Mr. Robert Gillespie. He literally changed my life, leading me eventually to earn a chemistry PhD at the University of Illinois, and to engage in a 50 year career teaching college chemistry. The science education at Mother Seton School will have a similar impact, I’m sure, on the scientific knowledge and the careers of its graduates.
Science education, particularly the ability and willingness to seek the best and most accurate information possible cannot be more strongly emphasized that we see daily in the COVID outbreak. It is one thing to make a decision not to be vaccinated, but it is critically important to understand the dangers that decision brings to you, your family, and the people around you. It has always amazed me to see how many people ignore scientific facts to pursue the path that they would hope would be safe and fruitful. The COVID outbreak and the anti-vaxers are the latest example of people ignoring scientific fact, endangering themselves, their families, and the people around them. No one (not even me!) is right all the time, but I have great faith in the honesty, wisdom, and suggestions of Dr. Anthony Fauci.
My stimulation for writing in Real Science comes from browsing a variety of sources, including newspapers as well as the Internet and elsewhere. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post have now stopped overnight home delivering to my mailbox here in Emmitsburg, making both stimulation for Real Science and pleasure browsing hard for me to do. Now, one of my favorite columnists, Gene Weingarten, is no longer writing his Sunday Washington Post articles, entitled Below the Beltway, in the Washington Post. Perhaps he’ll write on online. We increasingly have to adjust to change in our world, but thank goodness, the Laws of Thermodynamics do not change.
I am a fan of producing energy by wind power. This is a fine example of renewable energy with virtually no negative impact on the surrounding environment. Of course one has to be in a windy area to use this form of energy generation. As I have written earlier, it is a natural to generate power by wind along the east coast, but many people who live along the coast find the sight of the windmills unpleasing. As I have said before in this column, I like the sight of windmills, but I don’t live along the coast to support them locally.
The governor of Virginia and executives from Dominion Energy and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy announced in late October a $200 million plan to finish building turbine blades that would supply offshore wind activity on 80 acres of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal. This project would be the largest wind power production facility in the United States, putting Virginia at the forefront of development of wind energy. Unlike offshore drilling, the operation of offshore wind generation has no significant negative impact on the environment.
In addition to the energy generated, this project will create 310 new jobs, including 50 service positions to support Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, 27 miles off the coast. Dominion says the wind farm will generate enough electricity to power up to 660,000 (!) homes at peak performance, and it will avoid as much as five million tons of carbon dioxide from annually entering the atmosphere. As we have written before and is well known, carbon dioxide is one of the prime drivers of global temperature rise. This project has the strong support of United States Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, and she described it as symbolic of a new economy based on clean energy.
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