Provost Elementary Student Eva Advances to National STEM Fair with Winning Electrolyte Project

I ask students for their full names at the beginning of any student interview. When I asked Eva Fellars, she responded,

“Okay. Like– middle name? That’s sorta funny.” 

She laughed, and, catching me off-guard, I laughed, too.

Eva is a sixth-grade student at Provost Elementary in Bill Sprunger’s class. She’s seemingly funny by nature, precocious but in a winsome, kiddish way, and, just as importantly, she’s an inquisitive thinker.

Eva recently competed in the State STEM Fair competition and recounted the details of her award-winning project to me.

First, Eva mentioned that Gatorade is the go-to drink for most runners when refueling for electrolytes, but she knew that natural juices also have electrolytes. Because the conductivity of a liquid is proportional to a liquid, she had to test the conductivity of a given fluid to learn which drink might be a more significant source of electrolytes. She hypothesized that apple, orange, and pomegranate juice might offer a better electrolyte-per-ounce than Gatorade.

Eva then tested her hypothesis by creating a conductive sensor via copper wire and straw, and a circuit using a multimeter and multimeter probes, nine-volt batteries, and alligator clips. After testing, Eva learned that juices like the juices offer slightly fewer electrolytes than their commercial counterpart, Gatorade. It’s a unique, cohesive, all-inclusive project. So, where did the project idea come from?

Eva’s STEM project hypothesis sparked from an experience in which her brother, a track-and-field runner, had severe runner fatigue from seemingly thin air. The issue? Low electrolytes. Using her brother’s pain point as a start, Eva took the proverbial baton to the track to find a solution.

Her project and solution earned gold at the State STEM fair. If Eva is selected from the many winners, Eva will fly to Washington D.C to compete for the Nationals.

“I’m super excited– although I’d have to write a big essay, so– I gotta prepare!”

We’re so proud of all of our students who participate and compete at our STEM Fairs, and we congratulate Eva for a job well done.

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