At the regional “Jugend Forscht” competition, the two 12th-grade students, Lena Noelle Joußen (17) and Janina Seip (18), qualified for the Hesse state competition in Darmstadt. This meant they had to keep putting the finishing touches on their project right up until the very end.

The two-person team set off for Darmstadt the day before the competition, right after school ended. The next morning at 8 a.m., they were admitted to the Merck company’s gym. A total of 36 teams from the fields of the working world, biology, chemistry, earth and space sciences, mathematics and computer science, physics, and technology set about setting up their booths, taking the opportunity to check out the other participants’ projects.

Each team received two partition walls as well as tables and chairs; parents and guardians were not permitted to attend that day. At 9 a.m., the opening remarks were given, highlighting this year’s motto, “Don’t ask me, ask yourself,” and outlining the schedule for the day. A list of the jury’s evaluation times was passed around. This was much more enjoyable than at the regional competition, since we didn’t have to stand at the booth the whole time but could also attend various workshops on topics such as dual study programs or patent law, etc. We also got to know the other teams better, who also had very good projects to present.

 

45-minute evaluation by a four-member panel of experts

The wait until the jury’s questioning seemed relatively long, and our nerves kept getting worse. At 12:15 p.m., the jury arrived at our booth, “Microorganisms and Plastic Degradation: Identification of Bacteria in the Larval Intestines of Galleria mellonella.” Our presentation was followed by questions from the four-member expert jury, after which a sort of conversation developed, making the 45 minutes go by faster than expected.

We were done just in time for lunch, so we were able to spend the rest of the day in a more relaxed manner. Until 4:00 p.m., camera crews, photographers, and radio teams were on the move, interviewing the candidates. The jury also conducted their final evaluations. This was followed by a dress rehearsal for the awards ceremony, which seemed a bit unnecessary. Then, after a long wait, the moment finally arrived: buses took us participants to the Kinopolis so that everyone could watch the movie “Ex Machina” and then enjoy dinner together. During this time, the atmosphere among us grew increasingly lively, and by the end of the evening—when everyone had settled into either a youth hostel or a hotel—many new connections had been made.

 

“Feel free to put your own ideas into action!”

The next morning, we had breakfast, and afterward everyone was driven back to the Merck campus. There was a lot of excitement about the awards ceremony, as well as a noticeable sense of fatigue among everyone. However, the schedule didn’t allow for any long breaks. The tour of the Merck Innovation Center, where ideas for the future are brought to life, was very impressive and innovative, and our fatigue quickly faded away. We were given an insight into the idea development process—which usually takes more than two years—and a startup entrepreneur explained his company’s process to us in a very relaxed manner, encouraging us to put our ideas into action.

After spending nearly three hours at the Merck plant, we made our way back to the gym, where parents, chaperones, and science enthusiasts were now waiting to hear explanations of the projects. This part was exhausting but also very interesting, as a noticeable number of interested people came to our booths.

 

Vince Ebert as host

At 3:30 p.m., the awards ceremony began as the participants entered the hall, and host Vince Ebert welcomed everyone in his usual warm and friendly manner. This was followed by many more speeches from Merck representatives, mayors, and the Minister of Culture.

With its second-place finish in the biology category, along with 200 euros in prize money, Steinmühle achieved a very gratifying result, which delighted our parents as well as our advisor, Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe, and our chemistry and physics teacher, Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, who had also traveled to Darmstadt. Dr. von der Ahe, as our advisor, received the Advisor’s Award. All in all, these two days were extremely enlightening, interesting, yet also very exhausting, and were filled with many wonderful experiences. Janina Seip

 

Lena Noelle Joußen and Janina Seip won second prize at the state-level “Jugend Forscht” competition for their research on “Microorganisms and Plastic Degradation: Identification of Bacteria in the Larval Intestines of Galleria mellonella.”

 

This speaks to the quality of the education at Steinmühle: Just like his colleague Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf (right) at the “Schüler experimentieren” junior competition, Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe (left) also received the Mentor Award at the “Jugend Forscht” competition.

 

Of the 15 students, 13 qualified for their respective state competitions
Steinmühlen students explored interesting everyday questions related to nutrition and nature in the “Schüler experimentieren” competition. Under this competition title—the “Jugend Forscht” category for lower and middle school students (up to age 14)—the youngest Steinmühlen students won numerous prizes: They were able to prevail against mostly older competitors. They took first place five times and second place once. The early-intervention program—featuring the so-called “GuFi Lab,” where both basic and advanced work is conducted—has thus proven its worth in an impressive way.

Phosphate in Food—How Delicious Food Can Be Dangerous
Under this title, students Mats Böhmer, Marvin Preis, and Joel Rucker, along with their advisor Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, entered the competition in the field of chemistry.

Excessively high phosphate levels in the blood can lead to cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. The group of students developed testing methods to analyze the phosphate content of various foods, such as döner, bratwurst, and cola. In the process, they discovered that you consume far less phosphate from the much-criticized doner than from a cola. The project was awarded first prize and will compete in the state competition in April.

Does Diet Coke Make You Fat? – A Study of Blood Sugar Levels
In their biology class, students Rebecca Zenker and Hanna Schmidt-Dege studied blood sugar levels after consuming various sweeteners, as well as cola, Diet Coke, and potatoes.

Based on their findings, they concluded that it is best not to consume artificial sweeteners at the same time as sugar, and that potatoes do not cause blood sugar levels to rise as sharply if they are allowed to cool beforehand. The project, conducted in the Biology department under the supervision of Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, won second place.

How and how quickly does milk really go bad?
In search of an answer to this question, students Joshua Wieder, Morten Köhler, and Benjamin Schul conducted research in the Department of Chemistry. The team investigated how different types of milk spoil under various conditions. To do this, they built a temperature-control apparatus, determined the timing of curdling, and took bacterial swabs. Among other things, they found that added sugar accelerates spoilage, while longer shelf lives—even at room temperature—can be achieved by adding the sugar alcohol xylitol and by introducing air. The judges awarded first place in the same age group to the project, which was supervised by Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf. The team will now compete in the state competition.

Sunscreen for Trees
Once again in the field of chemistry, fifth-graders Mats Egbring and Leonard Berger entered the competition under the guidance of their teacher, Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe. Because his partner was unable to attend on the day of the competition, Leonard Berger presented the results. The two students isolated the leaf pigments from various colored autumn leaves and plotted them on a chromatogram. They used the leaf pigments—green, red, yellow, and brown-yellow—in solution as “sunscreen protection” against UV radiation, which simulates sunlight, on agar plates containing oral bacteria. Without color filters, bacterial growth is inhibited. The protective effect of the pigment filters ranges from 30% to 80%. The red filter provides the strongest protection against UV light. Leonard Berger received a special interdisciplinary award (equivalent to first prize) for his presentation and has been admitted to the state competition “Schüler experimentieren.”

Herbs, Tea, and More to Fight Bacteria
In their biology experiments, students Teresa Dinges, Neyla Fritz, and Sophia Rogosch (all in 5th grade), under the guidance of their teacher Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe, investigated the effect of various types of tea, herbal infusions, and food-based beverages on bacterial growth. The various solutions were mixed into liquid agar, poured into Petri dishes, and oral bacteria were spread onto them. By counting the bacterial colonies, the students were able to test the inhibitory effect of the herbal, tea, and food solutions on bacterial growth. Peppermint tea and ginger tea inhibit bacterial growth the most. The project was presented by Neyla Fritz and Sophia Rogosch (Teresa Dinges was unable to attend due to her participation in the Math Olympiad). The project won first place and has thus qualified for the state competition.

The young researchers (Schüler experimentieren) in Kassel with their mentors:
From left to right: Mats Böhmer, Joel Rucker, Morten Köhler, Joshua Wieder, Leonard Berger, Marvin Preis, Benjamin Schul, Neyla Fritz, Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe, Rebecca Zenker, Hanna
Schmidt-Dege, Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, Sophia Rogosch. Not pictured are participants Teresa Dinges and Mats Egbring.