On March 26 and 27, students in Mr. Seiwert’s Compacted Science class participated in the 68th annual State Science & Technology Fair of Iowa that was held at Iowa State University’s Hilton Coliseum. Southeast Polk’s students Benjamin Dostart, Ruby Schoolen, Charlotte Wobschall, and Jaira Yanders joined over 600 students to share the results of their research. Science Fair participants were encouraged to ask questions, experiment, and think outside the box. Southeast Polk’s participants’ research included: electromagnets to power a fan, building a homemade ion thruster, using stellar spectroscopy to determine the composition and types of far away stars, and using algae windows for carbon sequestration. 

Seventh grade student Jaira Yanders earned 3rd place in the engineering category for her research! Jaira’s research focused on the following:

Over the years, there has been a push for humans to clean the air of excess CO2. A great way to do that is by incorporating carbon sequestration into building designs. Algae windows not only help clean the air, but they are also works of art. If you were to see an algae window while walking down the street you know that it represents helping the earth efficiently. My goal for this project is to help the push of cleaning the Earth but to also represent that you can do so in a way that is beautiful and efficient.

Congratulations to Mr. Seiwert’s students for participating in the State Science & Technology Fair of Iowa, and to Jaira Yanders for her 3rd place finish!