Other scientific experiments addressed things regarding maintaining good health such as  “Is a dog’s mouth really cleaner than a human’s?”  and determining which water — well or city — has the most chemicals. Fifth grader Alexis “Lexi” Miller tackled that project and compared water collected from a home’s well and from the town water department.
While the experiment didn’t conclude with her hypothesis being correct, she did learn that the opposite was true, town water has more chlorine and well water has more iron content.  “The town water had more chlorine because it is treated so it can make a safe trip to you,”  she explained.  “I got the idea because I don’t like pollution and I drink lots of water.”
Last year, her first year involved in the annual science fair, she received a blue participant ribbon; this year, after being judged by eight science students from Bethel College, she received a medal and a chance to compete in South Bend.
So did six other participants: Hannah Woodard (fourth grade), Trey Watkins (fifth grade), Austin Howell (fifth grade), Hailey Fakes (sixth grade), Alex Eib (sixth grade) and Derek Johnston (sixth grade). Other medal winners included: (fourth grade) Malachi Greene, Adam Stevens, Nate Flenar, Courtney Horvath; (fifth grade) Sigourney Thomp-son, Chance Pfleuger, Zoee Stephan, Hunter Julian and (sixth grade) David Mc-Connell.
Fifth grader Trey Watkins found out what the effect of sugar is to corn stalks.  “My dad is a farmer,” he explained. “He went to a convention and they said that adding sugar would help the plants grow. You see, all grain plants make their own sugar, but we found out that if you give it too much it will do the opposite.”
A third fifth grader, Austin Howell, explained that he didn’t participate in the fourth grade fair but he took his fun with magnets a step further to earn his medal and chance at N.D. this year. “My hypothesis was that a magnet would have to be closer (to a metal object) when in the water because there was a mass, the water, in between,”  he said.  “But I was wrong. It didn’t have to be.”
Fourth grader Hannah Woodard took one of her passions, watching  “Storm Chasers” on television, to her first Triton Science Fair competition.
“I saw how fast the tornadoes were,”  she said. “I determined the stronger the wind speeds the more damage they do.”  She came to the conclusion by making her own  tornadoes  using two-liter bottles filled with fluid.
More TES winners included Alex Eib, Hailey Fakes and Derek Johnston.