Nearly 150 students in grades five through 12 from Miami, Darke, Shelby, and Champaign counties competed in the Ohio Academy of Science Upper Miami Valley District Science Day, held at Edison State Community College on Saturday, March 8.
Students exhibited projects in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which they worked on from September through February. The Science Day program has been in Ohio since 1949. Students who complete and present a science or engineering project at a local science fair in their school or a county event may qualify to compete at the regional level.
This was the 10th year for the event at Edison State. Organizers included area educators, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) professionals, and business representatives. Area sponsors, including many businesses and individuals interested in supporting STEM education, distributed about $8,000 in awards. Parents, teachers, and guests accompanied students in a tremendous show of support for the students’ efforts.
All Upper Miami Valley students who competed at the District Science Day received a superior rating at their respective local or county Science Day. Those students included:
Anna High School: Audrey Flaute, Rachel Harshbarger, Amelia Troller
Arcanum Butler Middle School: Weston Hatfield, Timothy Johnson
DeColores Montessori: Jonathan Conway, Nalayna Miley, Caleb Miller
Franklin-Monroe High School: Keven Huang
Graham Elementary: Xavier Garcia, Liam Kizer, Rees Hedrick
Graham Middle School: Johnston, Carly Birchfield
Holy Angels: Oliver Fortkamp, Sandy Lee, Kaitlyn Miller, Tyler Miller, Eden Snow, Sophie Sollmann, Harper Vondenhuevel
Jackson Center Elementary: Caleb Lotz, Elias Shuster
Lehman High School: Jack Earhart, Noelle Reineke
Miami East High School: Kara Hale
Miami East Junior High School: Brooke Barnes, Emma Register, Sawyer Bates, Anderson White, Klara Black, Harlan Fulton, Baine Clark, Cameron Helsinger, Mason Dillon, Jackson Gray
Milton-Union High School: Liam Hartley
Piqua Catholic Middle School: Mackenzye Walker
St. Patrick of Troy: Ernesto Flores
Tri-Village High School: Cora Gutierrez, Ezra Gutierrez, Colton Clevenger, Reggie Osborne
Upper Valley Career Center: Addyson Klima
Urbana High School: Dakota Nance
Tippecanoe High School: Sadhil Mehta, Colin Snider, Aubrey Ernst, Audrey Jackson, Ela Van Oss
Tippecanoe Middle School: Maximilian Lesher, Olivia Phillips, Emily Riehle, Cali Sevitts, Lillian Snell, Lily Van Oss
L. T. Ball Intermediate: Ujval Kondapalli
Miami Valley School: Arjun Jain, Keshav Goyal
St. Charles Borromeo: Dorothy Back, Herbert Best, Natalie Bigelow, Micaela Conard, Nathan Keltos, Nathan Olmstead, Luke Oue, Charles Hanley, Maxwell Rehmert, Ben Egan
All projects receiving superior ratings at the Upper Miami Valley District Science Day will proceed to the State Science Day held in April.
The Upper Miami Valley District Council thanks the 50-plus judges and event volunteers for their time and efforts, which contributed to the event’s success. Event and award sponsors included:
BASF–Greenville, Edison State, Cargill, Tipp City Rotary Club, Wayne HealthCare, Shook Construction, College of Wooster, B-WISER Camp Scholarship, Lightle Family Science Fund, CareerVolt (Sheila M. Cherry), Premier Health–UVMC, Ohio Tuition Trust Authority, Abbey Credit Union, Inc., Ohio Soybean Council, Tipp-Monroe Optimists, Tippecanoe Masonic Lodge 174, David Shepherd, Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, McMurry Family, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Garmann Miller Architects, Whirlpool Kitchenaid Corporation, Abbott Nutrition–Tipp City, 100 Proof Press, Wells Brothers, Inc., Martin E. English, DVM, the Wahl Family, Dave Werts & Georgia Bayman, James McGarry, North Star BlueScope Steel, the Chaney Family, and the SO Chapter of Human Factors & Ergonomics Society.
For more information about Upper Miami Valley Science Days, email Dr. Martin English at info@ohioumvsd.com or visit www.ohioumvsd.com.
Photo: 2025 Ohio Academy of Science Upper Miami Valley District Science Day