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Regional Science Fair Brings High School Researchers to MCLA

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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Kaare Francis and Owen Marks of Pittsfield High Schools created a skateboard that can be used on a trampoline. Top photo, Amandia Carr, left, Tiffany England and Belinda Oliva were pulling water out of air.

Tiffany Salvi and Jennifer Petricca.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Are mealworms nutritious? The answer is yes: the tiny creatures could be harvested as a protein source.

But, admitted Brenna Keogh of Mohawk Trail Regional High School, they may "be an acquired taste."

While mealworm sandwiches may never catch on, Keogh speculates they could be an inexpensive, home-grown, sustainable food — one that wouldn't have a major environmental impact.

Who thinks like that? For Keogh it springs from her interest and concern over ecological matters (and won her a second place). For more than 100 other high school students from around the region, who knows? But they spent the last several months wondering "what if?" from myriad angles.

Their projects filled the gymnasium at the Amsler Campus Center on Friday for the Region 1 Science Fair, an annual event that brings together some of the brightist young scientific and engineering minds in the region. The numbers were opened up from the 70 that entered last year.

The daylong event included lunch and a keynote speech by Kathleen Arcaro, a professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Masschusetts at Amherst who has been doing research on the effects of pollutants on breast milk. Fair winners received cash prizes up to $300 and entrance into the state science fair at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Representing 10 high schools, the projects ranged from practical applications to genetic research to killer honey to the truth behind the 5-second rule (Can you handle the truth? We couldn't.).

Taconic and Pittsfield high schools had by far the largest contingents this year. Kristen Pearson, chair of the science department at Taconic, said students participate in the school's Academy of Science and Engineering in their sophomore and senior years.

The school holds its own science fair and the top 20 go on the Region 1 fair. "It's definitely a learning process for them," she said. "They get a lot of things out of it, the really true understanding of the application of science."


Brianna King and Abigail LeRose found that Taconic High School could do more recycling in plastics. Below, UMass grad student Julian Sosnik recalls his school science fair and has the picture to prove it.
Drury High teacher Peter Allen checks out a display.
School science courses teach procedure, she noted, while the fair expects independent research. "They learn it's not instant gratification. I've had them come to me and say they failed. I tell them no one failed, it's science. Rarely does it work the first time."

Sometimes the hypothesis doesn't hold up under the research. That was the case with Brittany Salvi and Jennifer Petricca of Taconic, who proved themselves wrong.

They were working with the hypothesis that domesticated mammals — cats and dogs — would be closer to humans as measured by lysozyme, an antibacterial protein found in body secretions such as sweat and tears.

But their survey of amoeba, spiders, rats, mice and other "house pets whether you want them or not," said Jennifer, showed that of all organisms, the lowly amoeba that lives houseplant soil was the closest match.

"There were a lot of things we did not expect on this project," said Tiffany, as Jennifer piped in, "who would expect the amoeba to be that closely related to us?"

If anything, the experiment has piqued their interest in genetics even more. "Both of us want to dabble in genetics," said Jennifer. "I want to be a large animal vet and Tiffany wants to be a genetic counselor."

Drury High School more than doubled the number of projects from last year, with five teams displaying their engineering and research skills. Physics teacher Paul Allen said he made it part of his honors course for this year and got the seniors thinking about the fair last October.

"I was very pleased because all the students really took it to heart," he said. "And they really had fun with it, too."

Seniors Amandia Carr, Tiffany England and Belinda Oliva described their project to pull water from air, from a suggestion by Allen, as a team effort. It also had a real-world application, said Tiffany, "we thought of Third World countries, how they need fresh water and how they could do it if they did it on a bigger scale."

Lauren Moffatt, new coordinator of the college's Berkshire Environmental Resource Center, was a judge for the fair, along with UMass graduate students Kate McCusker and Julian Sosnik.

"I was just floored by the quality of all the proejcts," said Moffatt. "I don't quite remember my high school science fair project being as well developed and as scientifically sound as these are."

It was, said McCusker, a molecular biologist, enough to inspire one to go on to school.

How profound an effect can a school science fair have? For Sosnik, also studying molecular and cellular biology, it would seem significant. The Argentine native eagerly flipped through his phone to show a picture of himself and classmates at his seventh-grade science fair.

Results below:

First Place Project School
Cindy Schmelkin Maureen Clark Carcinogenic Effects on the Regeneration of Planaria
Monument Mtn. High School
Olivia Almeida
Rachel Aylward
Yawn Much?
Westfield High School


Second Place Project School
Nancy Maleno Which Antiseptic Works
Best on eColi?
Greenfield
High School
Steve Reynolds
Andrew Ellis
Effects of Environmental Conditions on the Strain Behaviors
Westfield
High School
Terianna Wax

Zachary Grobe
Oil Wells Within Plant Cells Westfield
High School
Aiden Barrett Organic or Inorganic?
Hopkins Academy
Chelsea Villareal
Renee Barouxis         
Sugar vs. Splenda
Westfield
High School
Jessa Orluk
Kaela Poulin
Go Greenhouse
Westfield
High School
Ellen Hutchinson
Julie Ogonis
Gender Under Pressure
Westfield
High School
Julie Diamond
Rhea Howard             
Signe Dahlberg-Wright
Who Cares?
Monument Mtn. High School
Leigh Moffatt 
Louisa Carman
The Effectiveness of Honey
As An Anti-Bacterial Agent
Monument Mtn. High School
Aliza Majewski "Is It In You?" Gatorade vs Water on Basil Plant Growth
Hopkins Academy
Adam Daniere
Matthew Jacques Joseph Milewski
3D Scratch Holograms
Hopkins Academy
Brenna Keogh Entomophagy: Mealworms as a Viable Protein Source for Humans
Mohawk Trail High School


Third Place Project School
Shannon Aurigemma Tea Tree Oil: Beneficial
or Superficial
Mohawk Trail
High School
Yara Tayeh Aline Parnagian Effect of Enzyme Cleaners on Petroleum Hydrocarbon Spills
Westfield
High School
Joanna Janik
Lesya Gavrilyuk
Alisa Gavrilyuk
Are You Sure You Know Your Colors?
Westfield
High School
Kevin McLaughlin Memory Taconic
High School
William Wannamaker The Link Between Lightning and Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes
Taconic
High School
Sarah Tucker The Application of Chemistry to Produce Natural Ceramic Glaze
Taconic
High School
Jacob Mullen
Brett Haas
More Advanced Racing Solutions
Taconic
High School
Lauren Avery Factors of Bacteria Levels in Raw Milk
Mohawk Trail
High School
Gabriel Chevalier Fry Factor Is Your Skin Protected?
Mohawk Trail
High School
Stephanie Bacon Katherine Landeck Assessing the Impact of Development on Stream Biota
Minnechaug Regional High School
Becca Hopkins
Jamie McNary Miranda Bona
Healing Hair Cells Using
Natural and Synthetic Oils
Drury High School
Tyler Cowan The Thermal Guardian
Taconic
High School
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Companion Corner Grey Boy at No Paws Left Behind

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There's a cat No Paws Left Behind still waiting for his forever home.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home. He was previously highlighted but he now has new information.

Grey Boy is 10 years old and is a gray and white domestic shorthair and was previously highlighted on Companion Corner.

The shelter's Executive Director Noelle Howland introduced us to him and his long journey to be ready for adoption.

"He's been here a couple months. He was a transfer from a rescue in Bennington. They were out of space, so we had taken him in with a few other cats. So he's been here a couple months. He came in with what we believed was a respiratory infection," she said. "So it took us a little bit to get him ready, and then he also needed a dental. So he has nice, clean teeth. He had some teeth removed, and then he has to go back in and have one more dental. So he'll be all ready to go."

It was previously thought that he has feline herpes but he was recently diagnosed with a palette fracture because of how bad his dental disease was, which is what is causing his sneezing. He can now go home with cats, a cat-savvy dog and children.

"He has had two dentals since being with us. Due to the palate fracture he will be sneezy for the rest of his life, not contagious sneezing, but that doesn’t stop him from living a perfectly happy life. He should be on wet food with chunks due to this and since he has had many teeth removed," Howland said.

Grey Boy loves to play with toys and enjoy treats. He would also love to have a window to lounge or bird-watch in.

"He is not afraid of anything. He's very curious, so I'm sure he'd love if you have windows for him to look out of. He still plays, even though he's 10 it does not stop him. So any home would be a good fit for him."

Now that he is ready to be adopted, he is excited. When you walk into the room with him he will rub up against your leg introducing himself and asking to be pet.

"Usually, I would say, when you're walking, he'll bonk into you so he might catch you off guard a little bit. He constantly is rubbing against you," Howland said. "He really, I would say he's lazy when you want him to be, and he's active when you want him to be. He'll play with toys. He's usually lounging away. And then when he comes out he'll play. He loves it. So, very friendly, easy going cat."

He is now perfectly healthy with his dentals all done and veterinary care up to date and is ready to find his forever family.

"I would say the friendliest, easiest cat you could have. He's just, he's just gonna be a little sneezy sometimes, but that doesn't stop him from doing anything," she said.

Grey Boy's adoption fee is sponsored by Rooted in Balance Counseling LLC.

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