About 300 people turned out March 26 for the final day of the six-day-long Mastodon Regional Art and Science Fair, held in the Jefferson College Field House on the Hillsboro campus, organizers said.
On the last day of the fair, an awards ceremony and a Family Expo were held.
“I think it went very well,” executive director Samantha DeClue said. “For the awards ceremony, the bleachers we had open were completely filled, and we had to pull out some extra chairs. So we were pleased with the attendance.”
The Field House lobby area was the site of the Family Expo, which featured booths and activities.
“We had marble painting, we had string art, we had tattoos,” Expo chair Lindsay Marlow said. “We did a ‘magic touch’ project that the kids really liked.”
Marlow said children particularly enjoyed the Missouri Master Naturalist booth, with its hands-on displays of animal pelts, silicone molds of animal tracks and more.
There also were rugs on the floor for little ones to play with blocks and a table for older engineers to build with K’Nex construction systems.
“It was so much fun,” Marlow said. “After all the effort put into it, to see families show up and stay for several hours was great. It made all the work worth it.”
Inside the gym, about 70 science projects and 170 or so art projects were on display, and for the first time, high school art students’ portfolios were displayed.
“They can submit a single project, and then they can submit a portfolio of their work for the big scholarship awards,” Marlow said. “Some of the best work of the fair is in those, and I think people really enjoyed looking at them. I talked to some of the students, and they were nervous and excited and so proud.”
Getting input from qualified judges is the biggest benefit for the fair, Marlow said.
“It’s so great to have a venue for these kids to showcase their work,” she said. “It’s validation, as well as constructive criticism. There’s a lot to be said for having an artist or scientist review your project and say, ‘Good job, but you might want to consider X, Y or Z in the future.’ It’s valuable for them to get that outside perspective.”
Although they are pleased at this year’s turnout, fair organizers are still worried about the fair’s future.
“We get zero state or federal funding,” Marlow said. “I think that’s something people might not know. Everything we do is with private donations.”
DeClue said the college’s contribution to the fair each year is “invaluable,” especially the help from Field House coordinator Marie Self and her crew.
“We are going forward with plans for some fundraising events, but it’s still not settled whether we’ll be able to do this again,” DeClue said. “We’ve had some people contact us about volunteering, and we have had some donations. Every little bit helps, but we are still looking for ways to help fund us for the future.”
Marlow said fair organizers are looking at rolling out a subscription service for people to donate, among other projects.
“The fair is just so valuable,” she said. “We need money. We need involvement. We need people to help so we can keep having this wonderful resource.”
Awards
Nearly 250 students took part in the 2022 Mastodon Arts and Sciences Regional Fair, which ran from March 20 through March 26 at Jefferson College in Hillsboro.
Both art and science projects were divided according to grades.
On the elementary and middle school level, first- through third-place science project winners received a medal and the fourth-place finisher got a ribbon. For the high school division, cash prizes were also awarded. The top three science project winners got $1,000 for first place, $500 for second and $250 for third.
In the art category, entries were divided into portfolio and floor projects. For portfolio, the first-place winner got $750, second $500 and third $250. For the floor projects, the top prizes were $100, $75 and $50.
The top science projects winners are eligible to take part in the International Science and Engineering Fair competition scheduled for May 7-13 in Atlanta.
Below is a list of some of the top winners. For a complete list of winners got to mastodonfair.org.
Science awards
■ Crystal City High School’s Abby Nelson and Brooklyn Portell both received a Flying Eagle Group Award, a first place in the biological science division for ninth- through 12th-graders and a first place in the ISEF scholarship competition. They are eligible to take part in the International Science and Engineering Fair competition.
■ Alex Perry of Festus Middle School won a Broadcom MASTERS award and earned second place in the biological science division for sixth- through eighth-graders.
Other science winners included:
■ Isabel Bruck, Crystal City High School – third place, for ninth- through 12th- grade physical science.
■ David Diener, Crystal City High School – honorable mention, ninth- through 12th- grade physical science.
■ Gabrielle Groves, Crystal City High School – honorable mention, ninth- through 12th- grade biological science.
■ Lauren Hartmann, Crystal City High School – honorable mention, ninth- through 12th- grade biological science.
■ Benjamin Overton, Crystal City High School – honorable mention, ninth- through 12th- grade physical science.
■ Juliet Mueller, Fox Elementary – first place, fourth- through fifth-grade division.
■ Noah Pleimann, Fox Elementary – first place, fourth- through fifth-grade division.
Art awards
■ Jordan Marler of Festus High School won the Best in Show award, as well as second place in the 12th-grade division.
■ Sara Baum of Festus High School won the Jefferson College Foundation Scholarship and a Flying Eagle Award, and placed second in the Floor Division and third in Portfolio.
■ Makayla Vessels of Festus High School earned honorable mention in both Floor Division and Portfolio.
Other art winners included:
■ Peyton Willis, Festus High School – third place, grade 12.
■ Shelby Davis, Festus High School – first place, grade 11.
■ Bryce Shepard, Jefferson High School – third place, grade 11.
■ Ky Fitt, Crystal City High School – honorable mention, grade 11.
■ Kylie Richardson, Festus High School – first place, grade 10.
■ Lilly Minden, De Soto High School – second place, grade nine.
■ Hailey Logan, homeschool – second place, grade eight.
■ Sky Abell, Antonia Middle School – first place, grade seven.
■ Morgan Stokes, De Soto School District – second place, grade seven.
■ Braelyn Prosser, Crystal City Elementary – third place, grade seven.
■ Molly Reiter, Crystal City Elementary – first place, grade six.
■ Laney Shoopman, Telegraph Intermediate – first place, grade five.
■ Gracen Limpert, Telegraph Intermediate – second place, grade five.
■ Trenton Thompson, Crystal City Elementary – third place, grade five.
■ Anna Mijarez, Telegraph Intermediate – honorable mention, grade five.
■ Brennan Smith, Crystal City Elementary – second place, grade four.
■ Charlie Taylor, Telegraph Intermediate – third place, grade four.
■ Autumn Strohmeier, Telegraph Intermediate – honorable mention, grade four.
■ Ava Dee, Crystal City Elementary – first place, grade three.
■ Destinee Overy, Telegraph Intermediate – third place, grade three.
■ Avery Bova, Crystal City Elementary – honorable mention, grade three.
■ Rosalie DeCollo, Plattin Primary – first place, grade two.
■ Camielle Roth, Plattin Primary – first place, grade one.
■ Kenzington Adams, Crystal City Elementary – third place, grade one.
■ Aubrey Riney, Crystal City Elementary – honorable mention, grade one.
■ Raelyn Stokes, Plattin Primary – second place, kindergarten.
■ Orion Ecton, Artsy Pants Makers Studio – third place, kindergarten.