Soleil Ehalt expresses her excitement at being a winner in the third annual Big Bang Catholic STEM Fair April 6. Her family took the photo at their home because the contest went online this year to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. COURTESY EHALT FAMILY

The coronavirus pandemic is prompting creative approaches to learning and sharing, including the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence’s third annual Big Bang Catholic STEM Fair.

Seventy-three students competing in grades three through five, and in grades six through eight, submitted three minute videos to present their projects over the internet to a panel of judges.

On April 6, those Catholic elementary school students in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis logged into Facebook Live for the first C-STEM Fair virtual awards ceremony.

Soleil Ehalt from St. Joseph School in Waconia won the  in the 3-5 grade category for her project, “Which basil does best,” as she tested potting soil, yard dirt and hydroponic systems for growing the best plant. Potting soil won out.

Bridget Bowers from Holy Spirit School in St. Paul won for grades six through eight as she ran tests for bacteria on nine sample of holy water from holy water fonts in four churches. Four samples had high levels of bacteria, one had none.

Ehalt and Bowers each won a trip to tour the Vatican Observatory in Tucson, Arizona.

“Our Catholic school students love the discovery and learning that STEM topics provide,” said Gail Dorn, CSCOE president. “Catholic mathematicians and scientists were pioneers in founding the scientific theory, the Big Bang evolutionary theory and the study of genetics. We are helping our students build upon that great foundation to become society’s future innovators.”