Students’ West Nile project earns them trip to D.C.

 

By Julie Stevens

C & G Staff Writer

Local students’ efforts to battle the West Nile virus have earned them a trip to Washington, D.C.

Not only that, the four Kennedy Middle School students have also learned how the disease is spread, how it can be battled, and in doing so have each won a $3,000 savings bond.

The students are participating in E Cybermission, a U.S. Army-sponsored science competition that challenges middle school students to solve a problem in their community using math, science and technology.

The students won the regional competition of the project and will now be competing in the national competition next month.

The students, under the direction of sixth-grade science teacher Jann Tamer, constructed 10 bat houses as part of a Web-based competition.

“The point of the competition is they have to solve a problem in their community and come up with a solution to solve the problem by using a scientific method,” Tamer said at the start of the project.

The students chose to fight West Nile virus. They studied Michigan’s nine species of bats and found that they can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes an hour. Reducing the mosquito population means reducing the risk of infections from mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus. The students suggested bringing bats to the community to devour the mosquitoes.

The students then learned how to build bat houses and properly install them in neighborhood back yards. To get the message to residents, the students made an instructional video of what they have learned and gave copies to the St. Clair Shores Waterfront Advisory Committee for the city of St. Clair Shores to make available to residents.

The team will travel to Washington, D.C., to present their findings to a panel of judges. Winning the national title also means an additional $5,000 in savings bonds. 

Tamer said that during the 10-minute presentation, the students would also give facts about the brown bat along the way.

Tamer said the bats, which are approximately 2 inches in length and weigh up to half an ounce, huddle tightly together inside the houses, which are insulated for warm and cold temperatures. Brown bats hibernate and sleep hanging upside-down.

The bat houses that the students constructed can be hung on a house or on a tree, and will hold anywhere between 200 and 300 brown bats, Tamer said. Each house took approximately two hours to make. Students took home their own bat house to hang in their back yards.

Evan Wronikowski, 11, said he is excited to travel to Washington, D.C., with his teammates.

“I’ve never been there before,” he said. “I’m excited. I want to take a lot of pictures; I have four cameras. And we’ve have been really preparing for it.”

You can reach Julie Stevens at jstevens@candgnews.com