Students compete in science fair at USCA

The Stoner family isn't eating carrots any more - at least for now.

That's because St. Mary Help of Christians School seventh-grader David Stoner chose a science fair project that would determine how the amount of moisture affects the decomposition rate of vegetation. He chose carrots for the experiment.

"You should have seen those carrots after three weeks," David's mother, Karen Stoner, said cheerfully.

David took best of show among middle school students at the Savannah River Regional Science and Engineering Fair competition at USC Aiken on Saturday. The second- and third-place finishers in best of show are his St. Mary classmates, Mark Tisler and Ian DeMass.

Students from 18 counties in Georgia and South Carolina were invited to participate, but most came from the Aiken-Augusta area, said Barbara Smoak, education outreach director for Savannah Rivers Nuclear Solutions. SRNS co-sponsored the science fair with the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center.

David's name might sound familiar. In less than two months, he won the county spelling bee and took first place at the regional and state MathCounts competitions. He'll attend the national MathCounts contest in May.

Another winner was Emily Metzger, a Millbrook Elementary School fifth-grader, who took first place in the elementary plant and animal sciences category. Emily agreed with a grin that she might share the award with Maddie, her golden retriever.

"This is so exciting," she said. "I did my project on canines' sense of smell and tested my dog and my neighbors' dogs, a total of 10 dogs. It really depends on the breed."

Chukker Creek Elementary School student Noah Arnold also won a first place in physics/astronomy materials. Millbrook's Emory Lewis took first in the medical/microbiology/environmental division. In the food sciences category, Rebecca Ferguson took first in food sciences.

Another St. Mary student, Sam Kessinger, took first in chemistry, and classmate Natalie Gorensek was first in physics and astronomy. Jerry Bennett of Paul Knox Middle School took first in life sciences.

Other Aiken County students who placed at the science fair included Reece Berry, William Bosley, Sydney Maddox, Ashton Mustion, Ethan Arnold, Drew Brown, Abbie Truesdell, Hannah Griffith, John Monahan, Amadeus Gay, Zack Livingston, Richard Melton, John Baldy, Nathanael Graybill, Jordan Owens, Mark Watke and Christy Bynem.

The Ruth Patrick mission is infusing a love for science, math, engineering and technology, Senn said.

"There's no better place to do that than at a science fair," he said. "We're delighted to have all of you here."

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.