Lenawee Chemical Collaborative brings 'You Be the Chemist' challenge to county schools

The Daily Telegram
·3 min read
Fourteen middle school teams from school districts across Lenawee County competed against each other earlier this month during the student-science competition "You Be the Chemist" hosted by Adrian Public Schools at the district’s Julianne and George Argyros Performing Arts Center. The competition plans to become a yearly event offered through Adrian Public Schools, the Chemical Collaborative and the Lenawee Intermediate School District.

ADRIAN — Fourteen middle school teams from school districts across Lenawee County competed against each other earlier this month during a student-science competition hosted by Adrian Public Schools at the district’s Julianne and George Argyros Performing Arts Center.

Of those 14 competing student teams, two teams from Springbrook Middle School in Adrian claimed first and second place, and a team from Onsted Middle School finished third in the “You Be the Chemist” challenge, organized by the Lenawee Chemical Collaborative.

The competition, which is designed to celebrate the science of chemistry and to elevate a student’s interest in a potential STEM (science, technology, engineering and Mathematics) career field or a similar chemical-related field, plans to become a yearly event offered through Adrian Public Schools, the Chemical Collaborative and the Lenawee Intermediate School District.

Springbrook Middle School's team of, in no particular order, Ian Baker, Carter Fenner, Edward Hedrick and Riley Kirkpatrick, claimed first place in the "You Be the Chemist" student-science chemistry challenge and are pictured with their trophy.
Springbrook Middle School's team of, in no particular order, Ian Baker, Carter Fenner, Edward Hedrick and Riley Kirkpatrick, claimed first place in the "You Be the Chemist" student-science chemistry challenge and are pictured with their trophy.

The Chemical Collaborative in Lenawee County consists of Anderson Development Co., Wacker Chemical Corp., Evonik and W2Fuel LLC.

“It has been exciting to collaborate with Adrian Public Schools and the rest of the Lenawee County educators to bring the ‘You Be the Chemist’ challenge to our area,” Anderson Developmen CEO Mark Kramer said in a news release. “Chemistry can be a topic that doesn’t excite many people, so it was amazing to see the kids’ excitement as they worked together to conquer the ‘You be the Chemist’ challenge. Most people don’t realize products from Anderson Development Company and other companies in the business of chemistry in Lenawee County are used across the world to enable the things we use in everyday life, from computer chips to cars to household products.”

The first-place team consisted of students Ian Baker, Carter Fenner, Edward Hedrick and Riley Kirkpatrick. Team members from Springbrook’s second-place team were Makenna Arnold, Eva Garcia and Allison Marks.

Springbrook Middle School's team of, in no particular order, Makenna Arnold, Eva Garcia and Allison Marks, claimed second place in the "You Be the Chemist" student-science chemistry challenge and are pictured with their trophy.
Springbrook Middle School's team of, in no particular order, Makenna Arnold, Eva Garcia and Allison Marks, claimed second place in the "You Be the Chemist" student-science chemistry challenge and are pictured with their trophy.

Onsted Middle School’s third-place team members were Taryn Cabla, Isabelle Annon, Adam Ellenwood and Corbin Weatherly.

Fifth through eighth grade students are eligible to participate in the “You Be the Chemist” challenge in teams of three to four students, the news release said.

Onsted Middle School's team of, in no particular order, Taryn Cabla, Isabelle Annon, Adam Ellenwood and Corbin Weatherly, won third place in the "You Be the Chemist" student-science chemistry challenge and are pictured with their trophy.
Onsted Middle School's team of, in no particular order, Taryn Cabla, Isabelle Annon, Adam Ellenwood and Corbin Weatherly, won third place in the "You Be the Chemist" student-science chemistry challenge and are pictured with their trophy.

The challenge included a video submission by the contestants and then a live competition where students answered chemistry-related questions. The scores from the live competition and the videos created will be used to determine a state finalist. Local and regional winning teams from across the country are eligible for participation in a June 13 national challenge in Houston, Texas, where they will have the opportunity to present their research from the video component of the challenge to a panel of judges, according to the Chemical Education Foundation.

Kelly Truax, Springbrook Middle School eighth grade accelerated science course instructor, said the “You Be the Chemist” competition was a great opportunity for students to test their knowledge of chemistry concepts in a competitive environment with other schools and other middle school students.

Fourteen middle school teams from school districts across Lenawee County competed against each other earlier this month during the student-science competition "You Be the Chemist" hosted by Adrian Public Schools at the district’s Julianne and George Argyros Performing Arts Center.
Fourteen middle school teams from school districts across Lenawee County competed against each other earlier this month during the student-science competition "You Be the Chemist" hosted by Adrian Public Schools at the district’s Julianne and George Argyros Performing Arts Center.

“Our students showed great enthusiasm, sportsmanship and success by finishing in first and second place. I am grateful for the efforts of the many local organizations, chemical companies and fellow educators who made this unique event possible,” she said in the news release.

Cooper Howard, a middle school student at Springbrook, said he enjoyed the competition.

"I had a great time with my friends and meeting students from other schools,” Howard said in the release.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Middle school students compete in 'You Be the Chemist' challenge