STEM – Page 10 – Steinmühle

No. 1 in the State: Steinmühlen Teams Take Top Honors in Hesse at International Math Competition

At the international “Bolyai” math team competition, Steinmühle emerged as the most successful school in Hesse, with three winning teams across eight high school grade levels! The competition, which originated in Hungary, was held in Germany for the first time in 2014. Even during its first participation, Steinmühle achieved very good results. Now, in its second appearance, the school’s success has skyrocketed.

It’s all about teamwork and outstanding mathematical skills. That’s because participants in the ”
” competition must meet two key requirements: the ability to develop solutions as part of a team of four, while making the most of their exceptional mathematical talents.

In the competition, which was held online due to school closures, participants had to solve 13 problems within 60 minutes.
The problems were available for download at a specific time, and solutions had to be uploaded no later than 60 minutes afterward.

The fact that the competition took place online made conditions more difficult: no opportunity to practice together, no teamwork in a conference room, and time pressure—combined with technical challenges related to uploading and downloading.

Principal Organized 23 Chat Groups

With a total of 23 teams—which Principal Björn Gemmer organized via 23 chat groups on the school’s own “StoneApp”—Steinmühle participated in the competition. It soon became clear that the considerable effort had paid off, as Steinmühle emerged at the end of the day as the most successful school in Hesse, with three winning teams across eight high school grade levels! Second place, with two winning teams, went to “Schloss Hansenberg,” the State of Hesse’s boarding school for gifted students.
Our collection of portrait photos below shows what the state math champions look like:

Top row: Hesse champions in Grade 5, “Steinmühle Team 5” (from left): Alexandra Köller, Flynn Biallas, Johanna Rogosch, Liam Randau. They placed first out of 59 teams across Hesse. Their math teacher is Steffen Ullwer.

Middle row: Hesse’s 7th-grade champions, “Die Mathemagier” (from left): Teresa Dinges, Sophia Rogosch, Jonathan Hundt, Leon Delong (the latter two—the boys—are friends of Teresa and Sophia and attend the Gymnasium Philippinum). They took first place out of 43 teams across Hesse. Their math teacher is Michael Schmidt.

Bottom row: Hesse champions in Grade 8, “Steinmühle Team 8” (from left): Max Preidel, Lukas Zimmer, Mathilda Lambach, Mike Klatt. They took first place out of 38 teams across Hesse. Their math teacher is Eberhard Wieth.

A few additional teams in the top 10

But there were even more successful mathematicians among the participating Steinmühlen students. In addition to the three winning teams mentioned above, the following Steinmühlen teams ranked in the top 10 in their grade levels across Hesse:

Another team from 5th grade: Johannes Denzel, Teo Dohmen, Felix Martens, and Henri Reinhardt. Their math teacher is Eberhard Wieth.
Another team from 8th grade: Franka Preising, Paula Hartmann, and Flora Endres. Their math teacher is Constanze Oestreicher-Gold.
A team from Class 13: Lasse Michel, Nina Brand, Louis Kirschstein, and Till Maier. Their math teacher is Malte Klimczak.

Congratulations to all the participants! We’re so proud of you!

10. April 2021

“Youth Research”: Both Teams Take First Place and Another School Award

Contests & Awards, News, STEM, Talent Development

Once again this year, our teams performed very well at the regional “Jugend Forscht” competition, which unfortunately could only be held online this time.
Given the difficult conditions caused by the pandemic, only two groups competed this year, both of which were supervised by Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf.

Qualification for the State Competition

Just like last year, the team consisting of Joshua Wieder, Morten Köhler, and Benjamin Schul (10th grade) took first place in chemistry. They were able to successfully expand their project on heating pads for ski boots. With the project
With their project “The Ski Boot Problem, Part 2—New Metals, Catalysts, and Oxidizing Agents,” they qualified for the state competition in Darmstadt.
The team received two certificates, as they also won a special prize from Heise Medien: a one-year subscription to “Make,” a magazine popular in the maker scene.

Our photo shows (from left) Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, Morten Köhler, Joshua Wieder, Benjamin Schul, and Principal Björn Gemmer.

“A high level of expertise for someone so young”

In the junior division of “Schüler experimentieren,” Leontin Schmidt, Leonard Berger, and Mats Egbring from 7th grade also took first place in the chemistry category with their project “Nitrate—Is It a Problem in the Lahn, Too? Measurements and Experiments for Removal.” They have thus qualified for the state competition in Kassel.

In addition, Steinmühle won the Hessian School Prize from the “Jugend Forscht” sponsor pool, which is funded by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation.
In the laudatory speech, special recognition was given to the fact that, as in previous years, the students at Steinmühle possess a remarkable level of expertise on their project topics, especially given their young age.

Our photo shows (from left) Leontin Schmidt, Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, Leonard Berger, and Principal Björn Gemmer. Mats Egbring is not in the photo.

Our photo shows the certificate that Steinmühle received as the winner of the Hessian School Award from the “Jugend Forscht” sponsor pool.

8. April 2021

“TouchTomorrow” — Experience the Future in the Science Truck

News, STEM

Numerous students from Steinmühle in grades 8 through 11 had the opportunity to experience this over two days in the Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation’s Science Truck, which made a stop at the Stadthalle in Marburg in October.
At this mobile learning center, students were greeted by an exciting, interactive environment where they could explore the future world of life and work under the guidance of three young STEM coaches.

This made it possible to program a humanoid robot to transport a gold bear into a box. Afterward, they learned about the types of tasks robots could be used for in the near future.
“Augmented Reality (AR)” can be used in the future to simplify the assembly of relatively complex machines. At this station, the students had to assemble a machine using smart glasses, through which animated step-by-step instructions were displayed.
At another station, the students were able to experience how virtual spaces can make learning and working easier in the future. Using virtual reality (VR) goggles, participants enter a virtual workshop where they can work on a machine.
At the “Mind Control” exhibit, students experience what it feels like to control objects using only the power of their brainwaves. Here, they must guide a ball through an obstacle course. Technically, this works by measuring voltage fluctuations in the brain. A headset records these voltage fluctuations on the forehead.

Other exhibits focus, for example, on OLED displays, smart textiles, and the “Hyperloop”—a circular vacuum tube in which vehicles can be accelerated to speeds of up to 1,300 km/h, which could be a form of transportation of the future.

The students thought it was “cool” that they got to try so many things out for themselves, and they also found it interesting to learn what the future might hold for them.

For more information: www.touchtomorrow.de

26. October 2020

Live experiments at home on your screen – Online workshop “STEM: The Stars of Tomorrow”

Contests & Awards, News, STEM, Talent Development

From late June through late August, eighth- and ninth-graders from Hesse had the opportunity to participate in an online workshop on STEM. During the workshop, the students received guidance from top-notch instructors on topics that are rarely covered—or only briefly touched upon—in school. These included many fascinating insights into renewable energy technology, biological and chemical processes, as well as experiments and mathematical equations. In addition, the students programmed their own game on the computer and even built an electric motor. To enable the students to conduct experiments on their own at home, Provadis sent material kits to their homes for the sessions (e.g., construction materials and chemicals). During the 10 two-hour video conferences, the students conducted experiments at home and discussed their findings with their peers and the subject experts. At the final session, several experts presented various STEM careers.

Provadis originally developed this series of events in Frankfurt a few years ago in cooperation with five science centers in Hesse. When in-person events were no longer permitted starting in March 2020, they developed this “Online STEM Workshop.” Since this workshop has been so well received by young people, it will be offered in the future both as an “online program” and, as soon as possible, as an in-person event.

Students who are interested can find out more about the upcoming “Mint – The Stars of Tomorrow” program by clicking the following link: https://www.provadis.de/provadis-gruppe/aktuelles/details/news/schuelerinnen-experimentieren-zuhause-live-am-bildschirm.html

I definitely had a lot of fun at the workshop, and I can really recommend taking part.
Joshua Wieder

Many thanks again to Ms. Tschirch from Chemikum Marburg for bringing this opportunity to our attention!

30. September 2020

Award for a Trio of Researchers: It’s True After All! Organic Fields Offer Better Soil

Contests & Awards, Ecology and Sustainability, News, STEM

Leontin Schmidt, Mats Egbring, and Leonard Berger have proven what is often merely claimed: Organic fields are less polluted than conventional fields and therefore provide a better foundation for growing healthy food. For their work, the students and their teacher, Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, have now received an award of recognition and certificates from the “BundesUmweltWettbewerb” (BUW), an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Research and Education.

Early in the year, before the pandemic-related measures took effect, the trio—who were interested in the natural sciences—had already submitted their project for the competition. “Soil Analyses and Implications for Our School Lunches” was the title the then-sixth graders gave to their project, which had taken up a great deal of time for them and their supervising teacher. Various soil samples were tested for their nitrate content, as well as for ammonium, phosphate, potassium, their pH value, and their so-called KAK value. This value measures the soil’s ability to release nutrients.

Nitrate Pollution as a Priority Area for Monitoring

The studies focused on nitrate levels. Nitrate, which is converted into nitrite in the body, inhibits oxygen transport and is suspected of being carcinogenic in higher amounts due to further reactions that produce so-called nitrosamines.

The project wasn’t limited to the in-depth studies. It also included a survey of the school community. The survey asked about consumption and eating habits regarding organically grown products, as well as students’ perceptions of their health benefits. The sixth graders also wanted to know whether Steinmühlen students would like to see even more organic options in the cafeteria and bistro at Steinmühlenküche.

As far as the soil samples are concerned, the results speak for themselves. It was found that soils from organic farming do indeed show better test results, which was particularly evident in the nitrate levels. The committee was pleased to have discovered, as part of the experiment, that the forest soils examined still show good values overall.

Supplementary Survey on Organic Food

The positive attitude of the students surveyed toward organic food confirmed to the three students and their teacher that the overall topic of their experiment is highly relevant and has “struck a chord.” However, the results also revealed that food selection in the Steinmühle kitchen is already largely guided by the principles of “organic, regional, and fair trade.” “We would,” the students said, “also be happy if this shift in thinking regarding food choices continued not only in the Steinmühle kitchen but also at home within individual families.”

In addition to project supervisor Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, who closely oversaw all aspects of the project and was awarded a certificate in recognition of her efforts, Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe, who provided assistance with the numerous soil samples, and Dirk Lange, who managed the SurveyMonkey survey.

Although the BUW jury concluded that the project could be resubmitted after further development, the three young researchers are now focusing on water analysis. They have already begun testing nitrate levels in the Lahn River.

30. September 2020

Additional Equipment for the Student Lab – Workbench and Sensors

News, STEM

As a school with the “School for the Gifted” seal of approval, we can apply annually for funding from the Hessian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs to provide individualized support for gifted students. Fortunately, this made it possible to finance a small workbench for the student lab.
Time and again, students also want to engage in hands-on activities, as has been the case in various “Jugend forscht” projects over the past two years. Three 10th-grade students are currently building a device as part of their “Jugend Forscht” project to investigate how much oxygen various oxidizing agents can produce at high temperatures. The workbench now makes this work easier.
The gas evolution over time is being monitored using an oxygen probe, which was funded earlier this year through the “Jugend Forscht” sponsor pool.
Another “Jugend Forscht” group from 7th grade also received the go-ahead in September to purchase a high-quality nitrate probe, which will be used to conduct research in the Lahn River.

30. September 2020

Mathematicians Once Again Succeed at the Pangea Mathematics Competition

Contests & Awards, News, STEM

The participation of numerous students from our school in the annual Pangea Mathematics Competition, which takes place in several countries, has become a true tradition and shows that mathematics is a subject that can inspire many people.

This competition consists of 20 multiple-choice questions of varying difficulty, which students must solve within 45–60 minutes without a calculator. These are not traditional math problems from the classroom, but rather a combination of logic and brainteaser problems, such as those sometimes found in various aptitude tests for career orientation. Scoring is done centrally, and typically the top 500 participants in each grade level from across Germany are invited to the intermediate round.

This year, too, several students performed exceptionally well and made it into the top 500 in Germany (and the top 50 in Hesse).

5th Grade: Carlos_Toshira_Beato_Del Rosal

6th Grade: Sophia Rogosch and Teresa Dinges

7th Grade: Timo Wienbeck and Yewon Jeong

9th Grade: Joshua Wieder; Paula Auschill; Susanna Just; and Velten Schulz

We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to our students on this achievement.

(Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 situation, the remaining rounds of the competition have been canceled this year.)

(from left to right) Joshua Wieder, Sophia Rogosch, Teresa Dinges, Yewon Jeong, Susanna Just, Timo Wienbeck, Paula Auschill, Carlos Toshira Beato del Rosal, Velten Schulz

17. June 2020

Successful Young Researchers at the IJSO

Contests & Awards, News, STEM, Talent Development

For the second time, Hanna Schmidt-Dege (7a), Sabrina Ben Amor, Julius Henkel, Thorben Heß, David Immel, Luca Krantz, Max Posingies, Marvin Preis, and Joel Rucker (all 7c) took part in the International Junior Science Olympiad, which this year had the theme “All About Ink.” In this competition, children and teenagers up to age 15, under the supervision of a teacher, can work on various competition tasks either alone or in small groups. The most important part of each task is an experiment that must be conducted, documented, and evaluated. This year, for example, the students investigated what happens to ink when it is “erased” with an ink eraser, and they made their own ink using various recipes. In two additional experiments, they used ink to examine water transport in flowers more closely and to visualize particle movement in liquids of varying concentrations and temperatures.

The students were able to conduct the experiments during their regular physics classes and thus also make use of the school’s resources (e.g., the student lab, physics equipment collection). The results show that everyone learned from last year’s experiences and acquired a high level of experimental competence.

Marvin Preis (7c), who not only participated in this year’s Olympiad but also successfully competed in the “Jugend experimentiert” contest last year, advanced to the next round of the competition. There, he had to answer a total of 24 quiz questions on various topics in the natural sciences that went far beyond the school curriculum for his age group. Marvin rose to this challenge as well and qualified for the next round—a written exam—which will take place in June, and we wish him the best of luck.

17. June 2020

Further Support for Education from the Chemical Industry Fund

Collaborations & Partnerships, News, STEM

Every three years, secondary schools can apply to the Chemical Industry Fund for financial support for experimental science instruction. Steinmühle regularly applies for these grants. In the spring, another €2,500 was approved. With these funds, the school has since been able to purchase new molecular building sets and magnetic applications for modeling chemical processes and concepts, as well as additional specialized literature. With an attachment for carbon dioxide cylinders designed to compress dry ice tablets, small amounts of dry ice can now be produced right at the school. Experiments with dry ice are among the most popular activities among the students. Additional experimental materials for student experiments have also been purchased and will be gradually added in the coming weeks.

Experiments with dry ice are fascinating

Models make it easier to understand chemical structures and reactions

Smart sensors, when used in conjunction with a tablet or smartphone, enable the measurement of various parameters over time

Conductivity can be measured very easily using LEDs

17. June 2020

Bio-Olympics with a State Seminar at TU Darmstadt

Contests & Awards, News, STEM

Conduct Biochemical Experiments Yourself and explore new areas of biology

First things first: You don’t have to be in the advanced biology class—this is all about personal interest and extracurricular involvement! The International Biology Olympiad (IBO) is an annual competition for high school students that consists of four rounds. After successfully completing written knowledge tests and practical lab work, the four top German students will travel to the host country of the respective Olympiad for the final round. This year, that country is Japan (Nagasaki).

In my first year participating, I made it to the second round and, as one of the top ten students from Hesse, was invited to attend a four-day state seminar at TU Darmstadt. Throughout the entire time, I was supervised by Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe, who serves as the contact person at Steinmühle for student competitions in biology.

Requirements Beyond the High School Level

In the first round, four open-ended problems are presented covering all areas of biology. The difficulty level exceeds that of high school, but participants may use any relevant reference materials to solve the problems. The submitted solutions, in the form of a term paper, are reviewed by the supervising teacher. For me, the decision to participate in the Biology Olympiad wasn’t based on the expectation that I would definitely advance to the third and fourth rounds. My primary goal was to take advantage of the opportunity to tackle more challenging problems in biology, since I plan to study medicine after graduating from high school and enjoy taking on new challenges.

The first round requires a significant time commitment, but for me it was worth it—both to gain new knowledge in the fields of botany, genetics, zoology, physiology, systematics, and biochemistry, and to practice writing a scientific paper.

About half of all participants made it to the second round this year. In roughly two hours, they had to complete 30 multiple-choice questions and eight more complex problems. The resources available on the IBO website, as well as past exams, offer a useful way to prepare for this very challenging test and familiarize yourself with the format. Overall, I can say that there is no foolproof way to prepare for this round, as some of the questions present challenges even for biology teachers with a degree in biology.

Final Presentation

The top 10 participants from Hesse in the second round will then be invited to Darmstadt as a “reward for their achievements.” Working in teams of two, under the guidance and supervision of a lecturer, we were able to set up bacterial cultures, measure and record their growth, and perform biochemical procedures such as plasmid isolation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and gel electrophoresis ourselves. On one of the four days, we had the opportunity to explore other areas of biology in small groups and actively try out more complex biological techniques. In addition to topics such as neurophysiology (measuring action potentials in neurons), fluorescence and electron microscopy (learning about and testing how they work), and RNA methods (Western blotting), we also explored live-cell imaging. My experience in the field of live-cell microscopy was very positive, as we received excellent guidance and the professor in charge even took the time personally to answer our questions. The program concluded with short presentations by each small group on their findings from the individual experiments.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the work in the lab at TU Darmstadt, and since the internship isn’t graded, I can really recommend it!

Encouragement to Participate

To all interested high school students: If you’d like to give yourself the chance this year to challenge yourself and—by participating—not only earn credit toward your biology qualification but also gain hands-on experience working in a university lab under the guidance of a professional instructor, talk to your biology teacher and start working on the first-round assignments for this year’s Biology Olympiad as early as April! Have fun and good luck! (My results: Round 1: 13th place in Hesse, 182nd out of 1,165 in Germany; Round 2: 6th place in Hesse, 54th out of 518 in Germany)

(Carolin Mauersberger)

20. March 2020