photo by: Photo by Alan Olson

Steenrod Elementary fourth-grade student Zane Murray speaks before the Ohio County Commission after taking first prize at the state Science and Engineering Fair.

WHEELING – A local fourth-grader took the gold in chemistry at the inaugural West Virginia Science and Engineering Fair, finding that household materials can beat out commercial-grade products.

Steenrod Elementary student Zane Murray was honored at Tuesday’s meeting of the Ohio County Board of Education, having taken first prize in the fair’s chemistry division. Murray’s project, “Dusting Up on Fingerprints,” tested the effectiveness of various substances when trying to clearly detect fingerprints. His findings showed that bronzer was the most effective for this purpose, then chalk dust, with commercial fingerprint powder coming third.

“I compared it to all the other compounds to see how well it did, just so people could know whether you should use something from home, or buy something that’s $30 on Amazon,” Murray said.

Murray said that he was an avid reader of mystery books, and wanted to dig deeper into what “dusting for prints” entailed. That prompted his pursuit of the science fair project. Murray’s inquiry assigned point values depending on how clearly prints could be seen, with one point being given for being able to see a fingerprint at all, and additional points awarded for each additional minute characteristic of the print.

Bronzer scored five points on his scale, chalk dust earning four, and fingerprint powder scored three points. Cocoa powder, which Murray said he tested out of curiosity, scored zero points.

The Board applauded Murray’s project, methods and results.

“You win, man!” commented assistant superintendent Rick Jones.

Other local students also competed and placed at the state science fair, which was held earlier this month in Charleston. From Ohio County, Sebastian Kettler took third place in biology, Mollie and Julie Brammer took third in engineering, Ella Cusack and Brynley West placed third in technology. In Division II, Marshall County student Madison Roberts took first prize in medical sciences, and Peyton Brown took second in technology and systems. Additionally, Maria Faulstick, of Ohio County, took third in biology with her “Does COVID-19 Affect Children’s Mental Health?” project.