40 NBJH Students Qualify For Regional Science Fair

NORTHBROOK, IL — Dozens of local middle schoolers are heading to the Illinois Junior Academy of Science regional competition, as 40 students received gold awards Saturday at the Northbrook Junior High School science fair.

The fair showcased projects by students in an independent science research class. Participants developed experiments based on their own particular interests. Students were then guided through the process with the held of instructors Mark Frye, Pam Mendelson and Amber Paull, according to the district.

“Designing an experiment that is of their own choosing – thinking about how to control it, what materials they are going to use, how many trials they are going to do – is really the authentic work of a scientist,” Frye said.

Each student presented their experiment to a three-judge panel at the Jan. 20 fair. Judges evaluated oral presentations, written work and the scientific method of the experiments based on a formula created by the Illinois Jr. Academy of Science.

“I have a passion for marine biology and, why not get a jump on it?” said 7th-grade student, Parvi Bhatnagar, who studied how different types of fish react to different sounds and lights. “I wrote a 20-page paper that I’m really proud of.”

Max Glaubinger, an 8th-grader, also participated in the class last year. His project was “Text Size: Which Size is Best for Math Tests?”

“It’s a lot of work. But once you get through it, you feel very accomplished. It’s a great emotion to feel,” Glaubinger said.

Complete list of Gold Medal Winning Students and Projects

• Penelope Badgley, “High in antioxidants – Low in Bacteria?”
• Paul Bae, “Can People Tell Scrambled Words Like Normal in the Stroop effect?” Sohan Bellam, “The Zeigarnik Effect”
• Parvi Bhatnagar, “Fishy Business”
• John Bosacoma, “Do Consumers Care More About the Quality of a Product or the Branding of a Product?”
• Kyle Burke, “Typing vs. Handwriting: Which Has The Edge?”
• Claire Chang, “Music and Your Memory”
• Jenna Ciesla, “Old School vs. Technology”
• Miriam Faybysh, “Gum + Memory”
• Timmy Feng, “Does Bilingual = Better Memory?”
• Kate Gibby, “The Percentage of Introversion Throughout Different Age Groups”
• Max Glaubinger, “Text Size: Which Size is Best for Math Tests?”
• Sari Goldberg, “Are People Buying the Name or the Product?”
• Audrey Gottschild, “Short Term Memory: Which Gender Has It Best?”
• Courtney Grenier, “aMAZEd Hand Eye Coordination”
• Tacy Guest, “The Effect of WiFi Radiation on Plant Growth”
• Joanna Gusis, “If You Want to Be Kinder, Learn a New Language”
• Elle Harris, “The Dunning Kruger Effect”
• Claudia Hirsch, “Which Handwashing Remedy Kills Bacteria the Best?”
• Natalie Hong, “What You Really Should Be Listening To”
• Samantha Kaminsky, “A Musical Memory”
• Maeve Kenny, “Did You Hear That?”
• Brenda Kim, “How Do You Choose Your Dream Career?”
• Daniel Kim, “Connection Interrupted”
• Morissa Lambert, “Split Voters: Are Social or Economic Views More Important in Deciding a Political Party?”
• Emma Larsen, “Chemical vs. Organic: Which Fertilizer is Best?”
• Allison Lau, “The Effect of of Overcrowding in Hydroponic Systems”
• Jessy Luna, “Musical Medicine”
• Nate Muhl, “The Effects of Common House Plant Hazards on Wisconsin Fast Plants”
• Shae Nenadov, “Sweet and Sour Crickets: A Cricket Tasting Experiment”
• Felicia Pace, “Contagious Yawning”
• Abby Reese, “Music Pace and Speed”
• Payton Reynolds, “What Material Absorbs the Most Sound?”
• Jon Stephenson, “Preventing Iron Oxidation”
• Emma Ugarcovici, “Sugar High: How Temperature Affects Fruit Ripening”
• Brook Waltenburg, “Is There a Reaction to Sports?”
• Lilly Welch, “What Gender is More Influenced by Their Peers?”
• Noah Wilson, “Fresh Water or Salt Water for Photosynthesis”
• Chanwoo Yu, “The Secret Behind Wings”
• Angela Zhang, “Flexibility – Boys vs. Girls”

» via Northbrook District 28