Barker Middle School is an Indiana Department of Education STEM Certified middle school. Barker’s focus is Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Our STEM focus is very important for our students’ futures as eighty percent of the nation’s fastest-growing careers require skills from one or more STEM fields. Job opportunities in science and engineering are expected to grow at double the rate of jobs in other industries.
As part of our goals as a STEM school, every student at Barker is required to complete a STEM Fair project as part of their Science class for Round 1 for the second grading period. Top projects advance to Round 2, which involves being interviewed by community judges. The judges for Round 2 are retired Science teachers from Barker Middle School and Chesterton Middle School. Forty-seven projects advanced to Round 2.
Elite projects will be encouraged to participate in the Regional Science & Engineering Fair at Valparaiso University February 24, 2018.
Judges: Greg Kearney, Grover Medley, Nino Pecoraro, and Bruce Starek
Barker Science Teachers: Maria Surma, Jill Grabowski, and Val Mecklenburg
STEM Fair Coordinator: Amy Hamann, Curriculum Coach
Biological Division (8 projects)
3rd Place, “Plant vs. Aspirin”, Amellia Moss
2nd Place, “How Do Fears Change with Age”, Maycie Wallen-Chavez
1st Place, “Preserving Strawberries”, Kyra Krachinski
Chemical Division (16 projects)
3rd Place, “Acid Fruit”, Rylee Cabanaw
2nd Place, “Suck It Up”, Riley Steinhiser
1st Place, “How Does Temperature Affect Dissolving”, Thalia Karallas
Physical Division (23 projects)
3rd Place, “Tee Off”, Taylor Skibinski
2nd Place, “Lifty Load”, Kyle Yackus
1st Place, “What Weight Works”, Jermaine Carter
Creative Research Award
Chemical Division, “Egg-Cellent Solution!”, Brianna Johnson
Grand Champion
Biological Division, “Till or No Till”, Eric Wroblewski