Back Row: WVSOM students Suleman Sheikh (left), Adam Goodcoff, Anthony Barlow and Dustin Uhlenhopp.
Behind: WVSOM students Suleman Sheikh (left), Adam Goodcoff, Anthony Barlow and Dustin Uhlenhopp.
The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) hosted the fourth annual Southern West Virginia Regional Middle School Science Fair on Apr. 19.
WVSOM’s Affiliated and Sponsored Programs partnered with the Greenbrier Valley Chapter of Sigma Xi to offer the fair. This year nearly 55 students – the most participants in the fair’s history – from seven schools representing five counties took part in the event. Greenbrier Episcopal School, Mountain View Elementary and Middle School, Braxton County Middle School, Mount Hope Elementary School, Eastern Greenbrier Middle School, Green Bank Elementary and Middle School, and Marlinton Middle School were represented.
The science fair was open to entries in the experimental and non-experimental categories. Four workshops were offered: lessons in CPR, wilderness medicine providing techniques for dealing with injuries in rural areas, a drunk driving test simulation and a robotic simulator experiencing alcohol withdrawal.
First- and second-year WVSOM students judged the event based on scientific thought, creativity, understanding, clarity, dramatic value and technical skills.
One project that piqued the interest of medical students and other fair participants was a homemade Hovercraft made by a group of fifth graders from Mount Hope Elementary School. The machine was made of plywood, a leaf blower, a lawn chair, duct tape and pool noodles. With the simple flip of a switch individuals were lifted about 3-4 inches off the ground. The Hovercraft placed in the non-experimental category.
The winners in the non-experimental category included first place winner “Malaria,” by Max Casto, 7th grade, Greenbrier Episcopal School; second place winners “The Hovercraft,” by Alex Colaiseno, Nathan Jarvis, Isaac Underwood and Luke Toney, 5th grade, Mount Hope Elementary School; and third place winner “The Power of a Smile,” by Luna Martin, 8th grade, Greenbrier Episcopal School.
The winners in the experimental category included first place winner “The Health of My Creek,” by Sienna Bircher, 7th grade, Green Bank Elementary and Middle School; second place winner “Bacteria in Yogurt,” by Ceili Alder, 6th grade, Eastern Greenbrier Middle School; and third place winner “Sneaky Psyche,” by Faith Johnson, 7th grade, Marlinton Middle School.