First prize at "Jugend forscht junior" for project on healthy gummy bears

Maja Coco Jäckel and Lina Bousakri (both 12) from the Rebanus-Maurus School in Fulda received the main prize for the "Best creative work" and first prize in the biology discipline for their work on healthy gummy bears. In their project, the pupils produced sugar-free gummy bears that taste sweet but do not promote obesity and diabetes. Instead of sugar, they used miraculin, a glycoprotein from the fruit of the miracle berry, in the gummy bears. This clearly convinced the jury. The "best creative work" award is endowed with 300 euros and is sponsored by the Hessian Ministry of Culture, Education and Opportunities.

The teams were also awarded the state prize in their respective disciplines:

Working world: "From waste paper to scented cards" (Maria Illig (11), Amelie Risse (12), Emilia Risse (12), Georg-Christoph-Lichtenberg-Schule, Kassel)

Biology: "Snacking without remorse - gummy bears sweet but healthy with Miraculin" (Maja Coco Jäckel (12) and Lina Bousakri (12), Rebanus-Maurus-Schule, Fulda)

Chemistry: "Production and investigation of climate-smart straws" (Jan Kramps (13), Ben Leon Winter (12), Einhardschule, Seligenstadt)

Earth and space sciences: "Seebeck meets Peltier: A home without a grid" (Gargi Katakam (14), Thanvisree Mandala (13), Jugend forscht MakerLab at Schuldorf Bergstraße, Seeheim-Jugenheim)

Mathematics / Computer Science: "Avoid misunderstandings with AI! Conflict-free communication" (Mika Harkner (14), SchülerForschungsZentrum Nordhessen at the University of Kassel, Kassel)

Physics: "The potential of non-Newtonian fluids" (Lilli Gräwe (14), Ifigeneia Ktenopoulou (14), Maya Hofferbert (13), Paul-Gerhardt-Schule Hanau, Hanau)

Technology: "Environmentally friendly long-haul passenger flight: experiments in the wind tunnel with Fischertechnik" (Liang Künzler (12), no school connection)

They each receive prize money of 150 euros.

The state prize for the best interdisciplinary project went to Jannis Müller (14) from Lahntalschule Biedenkopf for his work "Hydrogen bus - small vs. large".

At the award ceremony, Lord Mayor Dr. Sven Schoeller began by welcoming those present on behalf of the city of Kassel: "Here in Kassel, STEM doesn't just mean mathematics, IT, natural sciences and technology, but also courage, innovation, curiosity and the drive of young researchers in the region. Our city is therefore delighted to once again be the venue for this important competition."

The Chancellor of the University of Kassel, Dr. Oliver Fromm, then addressed the young researchers in attendance: "There are many great STEM subjects to study here at the University of Kassel. That is why it is particularly important to us to support young people like you and to motivate others to do the same."

The ceremony was moderated by physicist and science journalist Dr. Sascha Ott.

"Jugend forscht junior" (formerly "Schüler experimentieren") is the junior division of "Jugend forscht". Pupils between the ages of 4 and 14 can take part. The Hessen state competition is organized every year by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering/Computer Science at the University of Kassel. In this round, a total of 52 young researchers took part in 26 teams. They presented their projects, experiments and results first to the jury (on March 28) and then to the public (on March 29).

The Hessian state competition "Jugend forscht junior" is generously supported by the sponsoring institutions cdw Stiftung gGmbH and Hübner und Kennedy Stiftung gGmbH as well as the employers' association HESSENMETALL Nordhessen, among others.

Press contact:

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communication and Marketing
Phone: +49 561 804-1961
E-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de