And the People’s Choice Award goes to….

     Of the 58 projects that were presented by students ranging from fifth grade to college at the recent 2016 OhioView Satellites Geospatial Technologies Conference in Perrysburg, Ohio, whoever could have imagined that it would be presenters from a combination Young 5s-kindergarten class from Waterloo Elementary who would be chosen by their peers for the People’s Choice Award.

     The award is given to the presenter(s) who the participants at the conference enjoyed most.  The conference was hosted by the University of Toledo.

     All year long, the Young 5s-kindergarten classes of Mrs. Ellen Perkins and Mrs. Natalie LaBeau has been collecting data on ground surface temperature and the number of worms found. 

     At the conference—kindergarten students Coryssa McCray and Lily Waltbillig presented their findings in “Where Did the Worms Go?”  Their presentation demonstrated how surface temperature does affect the number of worms that were found.  The younger students were aided in their research by fourth graders Viktoria Bloniarz and Mallory Standifer who have – during their lunch times – recorded the data and logged it into the GLOBE data base. 

     The project and presenters were judged on their knowledge of the topic, use of scientific method, clarity and expression during the presentation.

     “Our entire school is very proud of these young scientists.  Mrs. Perkins and Mrs. LaBeau have worked hard to create authentic research experiences in alignment with Waterloo’s STEAM curriculum,” said Waterloo Principal Mrs. Meghan Gibson.  “Coryssa and Lily each did a fantastic job in representing the amazing learning that is happening at Waterloo.”

     So what is next for this young scientific team? Next year, Mrs. Perkins said, when Viktoria and Mallory are in the fifth grade, they plan to further this initial study by comparing surface temperatures in Poland where some of Vickoria’s family lives.