Des Moines Public Schools held its 11th annual district science fair on February 7th at the Science Center of Iowa. More than 185 students in grades 6-12 presented their research to volunteer judges representing area corporations, higher education, and DMPS science faculty.

The event never fails to inspire projects as variant as the interests of 6th graders versus 12th graders, from the poppiest popcorn brands to experiments with artificial selection in the development of antibiotic resistance (!). One trait common across that age range is an inclination to experiment.

Listed below are the best of this year’s batch of experimenters. Winners advance to the state science fair on March 28-29 at Iowa State University in Ames.

Photos from the 2019 DMPS Science Fair
District Science Fair

RESULTS

6th GRADE

SCHOOL NAME PROJECT CATEGORY PLACE
Merrill Martin, Sean What paper towel is most absorbent? Consumer Science 1
Merrill Riggins, Maximus Breakfast foods or Snickers, which has more sugar? Consumer Science 2
Merrill Huggins, Finn Rice, Udder, Nuts-A Blind Milk Taste Test Consumer Science 3
Merrill Siever, Eme The Cupcake Conundrum Consumer Science 3
Merrill Proctor, James What’s in our water? Earth/Environmental Science 1
Weeks Hernandez, Matthew & Senecaut, Jackson How can we produce the most energy with the least amount of water? Earth/Environmental Science 2
Cowles Schervish, Sailor Does Vegetation Clean Our Water Earth/Environmental Science 3
Cowles Hoover, Cohen & Turner, Brandon Growth of a Cricket Life Science 1
Merrill Boes, Sam How does age and gender affect your view of violence? Life Science 2
Merrill Tyler, Ava What color toy most attracts dogs? Life Science 3
Cowles Elliott, Harrison Bacteria Microbiology 1
Merrill Puri, Will Copper in the Water Physical Science 1
Merrill Lohmeier, Bella It’s Getting Hot in Here Physical Science 2
Merrill Crook, Leland Is metal in cereal? Physical Science 3

7th GRADE

SCHOOL NAME PROJECT CATEGORY PLACE
Merrill Dunlap, A’Taurea Which brand has the fewest unpopped kernels? Consumer Science 1
Merrill Smith, Lily Are Natural Cleaner as Effective? Consumer Science 2
Goodrell Steenhoek, Keira Do dryer sheets reduce static? Consumer Science 3
Merrill Campbell, Ian Which Prairie Plants Have the Best Infiltration Rate? Earth/Environmental Science 1
Merrill Kissell, Maia To Till or Not to Till? Earth/Environmental Science 2
Merrill Foxx-Gruensteidl, Lauren Future of the Flywheel Engineering 1
Merrill Fialkov, Daniel Kick Consistency Engineering 2
Merrill Hewitson, Owen The Best Defense Against a Tsunami Engineering 3
Merrill Belknap, Marlo Can My Dog See Color? Life Science 1
Merrill Loder, Kathleen What is the effect of video content on chewing? Life Science 2
Cowles Maxwell, Maia Plants- Natural vs. Chemical Life Science 3
Merrill Fialkov, Alec Does the color of a penny relate to the amount of bacteria found on it? Microbiology 1
Merrill Smith, Lydia Potential, natural antimicrobial agents versus antibiotics–which one works best? Microbiology 1
Merrill Page, Camille Where the Wild Things Grow Microbiology 2
Brody Schuh, Claire Super Soap Science Microbiology 3
Cowles Kimsey, Levi Oh Snap! Physical Science 1
Brody Goldsberry, Amelia & Thompson, Destinee Does Mass affect Paper airplane flight distance? Physical Science 2
Brody Blaskovich, Sean &Thomas, Jackson Lorenz Force Effects Physical Science 3

8th GRADE

SCHOOL NAME PROJECT CATEGORY PLACE
Merrill Ryan, Maya GMO vs. Non-GMO Can You Tell the Difference? Life Science 1
Weeks Ramos-Barahona, Brandon Can Aloe Vera Juice Preserve Food? Life Science 2
McCombs Hernandez, Victor How Does Light Affect Bacteria? Microbiology 1
Cowles McFetridge, Ivy Density and Polarity Physical Science 1
Cowles Keairns, Lillian EggCellent Scones Physical Science 2
McCombs Hernandez, Maryfer Elasticity vs. Temperature Physical Science 3

HIGH SCHOOL

SCHOOL NAME PROJECT CATEGORY PLACE
Central Campus Ubadigbo, Esther The Effectiveness of Different Cleansers on the Scalp Consumer Science 1
Central Campus Biondi, Megan Not-so-Essential Oils Consumer Science 2
Central Campus Keongam, Kailee Hand Sanitizing Experiment Consumer Science 2
Central Campus Dang, Michelle Where does bacteria in tap water actually come from? Consumer Science 3
North High School Banda-Rivera, Rosy & Merlos-Rojas, Carlos Spoons: Innovation on Bio-Utensils Earth/Environmental Science 1
Central Campus Rojas, Edwin Antibiotic effectiveness on dirty dashboards Earth/Environmental Science 2
North High School Godpower, Barinua & Ninkunda, Estherine Dirty, Dirty H2O Earth/Environmental Science 3
Central Academy Mila, Michael How Safe is Your Password? Engineering 1
Central Academy Nguyen, Ben & Stanfield, Asa Evaluating Survey Efficiency vs. Survey Accuracy Engineering 2
Central Academy Hilton, Evan Comparison of Sorting Methods for Partial Sorting and other Adaptive Sorting Objectives Engineering 3
Central Campus Landeros, Marixsa & DeAvila, Kimberly Average Daily Gain in Market Swine Life Science 1
North High School Quinteros, Janely Is the Tongue Map True or False? Life Science 2
North High School Anaya-Negrete, Jayda Salt Salvation: Using Varied Salt Concentrations to Determine Cell Preservation in Plants and Vegetables Life Science 3
Central Campus Schmidt, Katharina Using Artificial Selection to Develop Antibiotic Resistance in Kombucha Cultures Microbiology 1
Central Campus Nguyen, Lanchi Potential Pathogens in Hose Water Microbiology 2
Central Campus Wiedmann, Abby Microorganisms on Retail Pin Pads Microbiology 3
North High School Godpower, Akpobari The Correlation between Wifi and Materials Physical Science 1
North High School Magallanes, Janida & Oropeza, Juan Carlos Renew the Sound! Physical Science 2
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