CW Science Research Institute

11/04/2021

Thank you Reading Eagle for highlighting one of our student scientists and an intern with our summer program. Erin was a productive scientist while a student at Conrad Weiser Area School District and we look forward to seeing what she does next at Penn State Berks Penn State. Reading Berks Science and Engineering Fair Berks County Community Foundation Pennsylvania Department of Education Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Berks County Intermediate Unit Conrad Weiser High School Conrad Weiser Middle School

Erin Horack has been studying spotted lanternfly since she was a freshman in high school.

10/29/2021

This just in!
Recent Conrad Weiser High School graduate and Penn State Berks 1st-year student, Erin Horack, was just announced as a 1st place finisher in the National AgriScience Fair contest held at the National FFA Convention.

Erin competed against other FFA members from across the country with her research project that investigated whether the carbohydrate ratio of plant sap could be used to predict the feeding preference of the invasive Spotted Lanternfly. Her results showed that plants that anecdotally attract more Spotted Lanternfly (Alanthus, Sugar Maple, etc) have higher sucrose and lower glucose and fructose concentrations. This research is useful in predicting which tree species are most likely to face serious damage from Spotted Lanternfly.

She also used mitochondrial DNA sequencing to compare the Spotted Lanternfly found in PA compared to Korea, Japan, and China. Spotted Lanternfly in PA were found to be more closely related to those in Korea and Japan.

Congratulations, Erin!

National FFA Organization Pennsylvania FFA Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Pennsylvania Department of Education Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Conrad Weiser Area School District Conrad Weiser Middle School Berks County Community Foundation Berks County Intermediate Unit Reading Eagle WFMZ

10/28/2021

Today our instructors from Conrad Weiser Area School District kicked off this year’s science fair season for 6th-8th graders at Conrad Weiser Middle School. Along with guests from Reading Berks Science and Engineering Fair, students were treated to some exciting science demonstrations and learned the basics of a good science project. Students then split up into breakout rooms where they began to think about their passions and what they wondered about. They were also mentored by our instructor team and Conrad Weiser High School students.

We look forward to seeing what these young scientists come up with over the coming months!

Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Department of Education Berks County Community Foundation Berks County Intermediate Unit

09/16/2021

Student participants from the CW Science Research Institute shared their experience with the 2021 summer science program with Conrad Weiser Area School District board members tonight. Looking forward to kicking off our school year mentorship and the 2022 summer science program! Conrad Weiser High School Conrad Weiser Middle School Berks County Community Foundation Berks County Intermediate Unit Pennsylvania Department of Education Reading Eagle

09/12/2021

Good luck to Sage Callahan and Courtney Britton, 10th-grade students at Conrad Weiser High School who qualified for the National FFA Organization AgriScience Fair after competing in the regional and state levels contests. They will be interviewed in the coming days for this competitive national fair.
Their project analyzed mold species growing on citrus fruits. 🍊

Recent graduate, Erin Horack, also qualified for the National FFA Agriscience Fair.

Conrad Weiser Area School District Conrad Weiser Middle School Berks County Community Foundation Berks County Intermediate Unit Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Department of Education Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Pennsylvania FFA

09/05/2021

This just in, CW SRI student Rowan Rice was named a Top 300 MASTERS in the 10th annual Broadcom MASTERS® — the nation’s premier Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) competition for middle school students.

Over 1800 students from across the country competed in this contest which only invites the top 10% of student finishers at regional science fairs. Rowan will now move on to compete to be named one of the top 30 finalists which will be announced later this month.

Rowan, who is now an 8th-grade student at Conrad Weiser Middle School, studied the incidence rate of microplastics in the Tulpehocken creek watershed. Rowan was named the 7th-grade champion at this year’s Reading Berks Science and Engineering Fair for her research project.

Congratulations Rowan!

https://www.societyforscience.org/press-release/broadcom-masters-announces-top-300-middle-school-innovators-in-national-stem-competition/

Broadcom M.A.S.T.E.R.S. Conrad Weiser High School Conrad Weiser Area School District Reading Eagle WFMZ Berks County Community Foundation Berks County Intermediate Unit Pennsylvania Department of Education Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

08/17/2021

This past weekend, our instructor team met to debrief and reflect on our 2021 summer science program. This summer marked a significant refocusing of the CWSRI flagship summer program to our instructor team’s expertise in the agricultural and life sciences. Great ideas were shared and we are excited to implement them over the coming months and into the summer 2022 program.

Stay tuned for this school year as we begin to roll out new and improved afterschool mentorship programming available to all of our student scientists as they continue to develop and implement their research projects.

Berks County Community Foundation Reading Eagle Reading Berks Science and Engineering Fair Conrad Weiser Area School District Conrad Weiser Middle School Conrad Weiser High School Pennsylvania Department of Education Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Berks County Intermediate Unit

08/05/2021

As the CWSRI summer program comes to a close and a new school year begins, we would like to thank the Conrad Weiser Area School District, Northeast Agricultural Education Foundation, and the Berks County Community Foundation for their continued support of our students and program. Thank you to our scientist experts for leading seminars and workshops for our students that exposed them to new areas of science and technology. We had a record number of experts from a variety of scientific disciplines from across the country share their knowledge and expertise this summer. Finally, thank you to our team of instructors and interns who each brought their own area of expertise and experience in science education to help make the summer program run smoothly. We are looking forward to the continued mentorship of our students over the next school year and cultivating the interests sparked by this summer’s CW SRI program. Reading Eagle Berks County Intermediate Unit Pennsylvania Department of Education Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Conrad Weiser Middle School Conrad Weiser High School

08/03/2021

As a celebration of our students’ learning and a farewell for the summer program, we held an end-of-program picnic and open house for participants and their families on the final day of our CW SRI summer science program. Students toured their families around our temporary lab space at Conrad Weiser Middle School and showed off the equipment and products from the last 4 weeks.

While the scientific exploration of the last few weeks is ending, we are looking forward to seeing the continued development of student-driven science research projects over the coming months. Students were presented with a roadmap of what next to do as we gear up for a new school year and how they can integrate their scientific research interests into the school day. Berks County Community Foundation Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Department of Education Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Conrad Weiser Area School District

07/30/2021

we concluded our annual summer science program! Students started the day by completing a food product design challenge posed by one of our instructors, Mr. Serfass. Students were tasked with developing a new cereal brand that targets young children that utilizes popular cartoons and comic book heroes. Students followed the food product research and development process that a real food scientist would follow working for a food company. Students enjoyed mixing their cereals and formulating their brands. Mr. Siefert was kept busy separating red Fruity-Pebbles out from the other colors for a cereal brand that was being developed by one of the student groups. Conrad Weiser High School Conrad Weiser Middle School Conrad Weiser Area School District Berks County Community Foundation Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Department of Education Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

07/28/2021

we wrapped up our last full day of the summer science program. Conrad Weiser Area School District alumni Natalie Keller and Ryan McClafferty gave seminars about their work in the food science industry. Natalie spoke about her role in developing new cookies with Mondelēz International which produces many popular snacks including Oreos and Chips Ahoy. Students got to taste many of the products she worked to develop. Ryan spoke about his work with Schreiber Foods as a dairy foods scientist. Students were then challenged to the different types of cheeses that Ryan’s company produces. Students ended their day by learning about the science behind the food preservation process with Penn State extension educator, Andy HIrneisen who led a workshop where students produced their own jelly. Tomorrow we celebrate the end of another CWSRI summer program and look forward to continuing student science research into the fall. Berks County Community Foundation Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Department of Education Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture