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Kira Zautcke places first in plant science at Edison Fairs Program

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Sanibel School student Kira Zautcke placed first in plant science for the Thomas Alva Edison Kiwanis Regional Science and Engineering Fair. MEGHAN McCOY

An eighth grade student received first place at the Thomas Alva Edison Kiwanis Regional Science & Engineering Fair for her experiment that proposed plants could be used as sentinel plants for determining areas that are receiving too much UV radiation.

“I got first place in my category,” Sanibel School eighth grade student Kira Zautcke said smiling. “I was really happy because they were calling everyone up, like honorable mention, third place and then second place. I had already gotten an offer to put my project up at a Miracle baseball game, so I thought that was all I was going to get. Then I got first place, I was like wow!”

The Edison Fairs Program, STEM competition includes three signature events – Thomas Alva Edison Kiwanis Regional Science and Engineering Fair, Thomas A. Edison Festival of Light Regional inventors and Elementary Science Expo.

“It was nerve wracking at the very beginning, but I sat next to two really nice girls,” she said. “It was really fun. I had to explain my project a lot, but the judges were very nice and they had some good critiques. It was awesome overall.”

Zautcke said last summer she saw something about highlighter fluid and how it fluoresces under black light, which caused her to think about the affect it would have on plants.

“Later in the year when science fair came around, I realized highlighter fluid wouldn’t be good for plants, so I looked up other substances that fluoresced,” she said.

The Sanibel School student’s research led to tonic water.

Her project used plants that retained water well, succulent plants, and plants that do not retain water well, ivies. She spent three weeks with the experimental portion, and a total of three months to complete the entire project.

“I tried to test which would glow, or admit light, better when it was water with substance that contained fluorescent substance. I tested that by after watering them I would put them in a little box and take a picture of them under black light,” Zautcke said.

She would then average the color of the ivies that were and were not watered with tonic water. The same process was used for the succulent plants.

“I measured the average change in color towards white, which I figured meant they were admitting light more. The ivies ended up admitting more light overall than their controlled counterparts,” the student said. “I think part of that is because the succulent has such a thick kind of cuticle layer on their leaf. I think that might have blocked any light that was admitted.”

Zautcke said if she were to do the experiment again she would use a plant that retained water well without a thick cuticle layer.

Although she really enjoyed her project, she admitted that if she does the science fair again next year she will do something with astronomy.

“I have always really been interested in outer space and I want to work at NASA when I grow older,” she said.

Zautcke decided to use her experience at the fair for her IB application essay because it was of one that impacted her academically.

Paris Bender, another Sanibel School eighth grade student received an honorable mention in the chemistry category for her project “Need Batteries?” Her project used household substances that could be used as a battery if the electricity went out. Bender’s project used a lemon battery as a control group.