An explosion of data, hypotheses, observations and conclusions resulting from a mixture of interest, curiosity and research occurred Thursday at the Flathead County Science Fair.

Third- through eighth-graders from 16 schools showcased 196 science projects at the Flathead County Fairgrounds. Students competed in four categories: demonstration, physical, biological and engineering. 

Engineering was a new category at the county science fair where a small group of students tested their ingenuity.

Kalispell Middle School sixth-grader Shelbie Guckenberg unveiled the “Magna Hook,” a consumer product she invented through exploration of how magnets work and observations of conventional hooks’ failure to hold up backpacks and jackets in elementary hallways.

“Walking through Peterson Elementary’s hallways they have hooks [in metal cubbies],” Guckenberg said, pointing to photos showing piles of backpacks, jackets and clothes that had fallen off of hooks.

The idea of the Magna Hook is simple: a magnet attached to a clip.

“These cubbies are made out of metal. I kept thinking what if we use magnets,” Guckenberg said. “With the Magna Hook you can hang up a lot more clothing in a smaller space,” she said, pushing together winter hats and mittens held by the magnetic clips on her display.

Some students, such as grand champion Kalispell Middle School seventh-grader Luke Ritzdorf, continued the work of last year’s science projects.

“This project is a follow-up to last year’s project, which was to design my own conductivity sensor that measures how much electricity flows through water,” Ritzdorf said.

This year he focused on building a structure to hold the conductivity sensor in water. 

“I decided to take advantage of flotation and built a boat that you see here,” Ritzdorf said pointing to a hand-built miniature boat containing the sensor, which he programmed.

The purpose of a conductivity sensor is to measure dissolved solids in water, salinity and specific gravity, according to Ritzdorf. 

“I know the Flathead Lake Biological station, they’re investigating sewage leakage in the lake. That’s signaled by higher conductivity, so that could be one possible use,” he said.

Projects also had practical implications for everyday life. 

St. Matthew’s School eighth-graders Luke Kowalka and Ryan Kelly tested drying techniques after hand washing. The pair observed the spread of bacteria after test subjects dried their hands using paper towels or a hot-air hand dryer.

“We read online that hand dryers give you back 255 percent more of the germs that you washed off,” Kowalka said. 

Kelly added: “While paper towels decrease 40 percent of the germs.”

Unlike Kelly, Kowalka was skeptical of the percentage tied to the hand dryer. What they observed in Petri dishes after three trials was close to what they read online.

“Electrical hand dryers are blowing already-living germs into the warm environment,” Kelly said, noting that bacteria thrive in warm air.

Other science projects had environmental implications. For example, grand champion Somers Middle School eighth-grader Annabelle Pukas looked at pollutants in the Flathead watershed.

“During the summer me and my family and another family go up to Sperry or Granite Park chalet and we always filter the water out of the streams and I wanted to know if that was going to be affecting our bodies. I took it a bit farther that if the industries we are putting up — that are good for the economy — could potentially be affecting the environment in a negative way,” Pukas said.

For her project, eight different waterways within the Flathead watershed were tested about 96 times for arsenic and phosphate levels.

“Phosphates are a naturally occurring chemical that would also be used in industry, but it is a growth stimulant for algae, so when the levels become too high the algae will spiral out of control and impact insects and fish,” Pukas said.

When Glacier Gateway fourth-grader Sydney Mann came up with her project, “The Effect of Vegetation on Groundwater,” she did it because of her love for gardening with her mom.

“I was excited to learn how plants affect our groundwater,” Mann said. 

Her project included a display of three plastic liter bottles with water-filled cups hanging from the spouts. One bottle was filled with just soil. The second contained soil, dead sticks and dead leaves, while the third contained soil and plants. Mann learned that the bottle containing just soil was the dirtiest and the one containing vegetation the cleanest.

“The living vegetation has roots to filter the water and as the water passes through every root it’s doing a process called rhizofilteration. Rhizofilteration is a process that involves filtering water, removing excess nutrients and toxins.

“It’s really important to have trees and plants by water so that the dirt and soil won’t erode away into our water systems.”

Anni Sutkus, a Flathead County Science Fair organizer, said science fairs teach students valuable skills in addition to the scientific method.

 “Students learn to do interviews and they’re learning to support ideas,” Sutkis said. “The science fair is important on so many levels.”

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.