Gathering STEAM: Webutuck’s 10th annual science fair a success

Kindergartener Samuel Johnson, 5, made his experiment about crystals; his brother, first grader Emmett, 7, was into volcanoes.
Judith O’Hara Balfe
Kindergartener Samuel Johnson, 5, made his experiment about crystals; his brother, first grader Emmett, 7, was into volcanoes.
AMENIA — The 10th annual STEAM Fair from the Webutuck Teachers’ Association took place Saturday, Feb. 24, in the gym of Webutuck’s Eugene Brooks Intermediate School (EBIS).
The STEAM Fair — STEAM stands for “Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math” — featured presentations, research projects, and experiments by about 50 participants, all Webutuck students from across the district, grades K-12).
Several round tables held two exhibits, and while there were two or three scenarios involving volcanoes, the projects were varied and creative.
The student participants came up with their concepts, constructed them, and then stood with them throughout the fair, capably presenting their work to the Listeners, Judges and other visitors.
Many parents, grandparents and siblings there to cheer them on.
Co-chairs Danielle Fridstrom and Christine Gillette were helped by Judges and a team of Listeners, which included seven students in addition to teachers and staff.
The Listeners visited each project, and listened as each student explained what part or parts of STEAM their project dealt with, why they chose that particular project, and how they created the exhibit, as well as how something worked and what the expected result would be.
The STEAM Fair is a teaching tool, but it is also fun, according to most of the students. There was a competitive spirit; awards and prizes given out after the judging concluded.
Fridstrom said, at the conclusion of the fair: “Thank you to all who helped make our 10th annual Webutuck STEAM Fair possible. We had almost 50 participants show up today, seven student listeners, and over 20 volunteer staff members.”
Special awards for grades K-4
Visual Communications Award: Caroline Eschbach, fourth grade — water purification; Lilliana Nelson, third grade — coral reefs; and Nolan Veach, third grade — lava lamps.
Innovation Award: Cassidy Brennan, fourth grade — dog treats; Carlos Lopez Giron, fourth grade, and Cody Deister, first grade — volcanic eruption.
MacGyver Award: Caleb Dennis, third grade — popsicle catapult; Henry Eschbach, second grade — lemon battery; and Emmett Johnson, second grade — volcanoes.
DaVinci Award: Kyra Whalen, fourth grade — wiggle bot; Connor Deister, first grade — busy bees; Samual Johnson, kindergarten — crystal growth.
EBIS (grades 5-8)
First place: Ryan Morrissey, seventh grade — aerodynamics; second place: Riley Whalen, sixth grade — wind tunnel aerodynamics; third place: Noah Veach, fifth grade — oobleck walkway; honorable mention: Nolan Howard, seventh grade — strength of magnetic crane.
Webutuck High School (grades 9-12 winners)
First place: Hailey Brennan, ninth grade — “Great Stain Showdown”; second place: Kaelea Murphy, 11th grade, and Corbn Shambo, 12th grade — “Werms”; third place: Jayden Avery, ninth grade — “How Much Sugar in Drinks?”; Honorable mention: Andres Dionicio, Brendan Dean and Emily Howarth, ninth grade — “Taste the Rainbow of Science”
Judith O’Hara Balfe
Fourth grader Caroline Eschbach demonstrates her water filtration system. She just turned 10, and lives in Amenia.
Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.
STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.
At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.
July transfers
79 Ernest Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 6.87 acres in 2 parcels sold to Matthew C. Marinetti for $1,225,000.
29 Drake Road — 3 bedroom/3.5 bath home on 2 acres sold to Harper Montgomery for $850,000.
6042 Route 82 — 4 bedroom/2 bath home on 1.09 acres sold to Spencer Thompson for $795,000.
125 Tick Tock Way — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath ranch on 1.9 acres sold to Fleur Touchard for $475,000.
August transfers
102 Prospect Hill Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 6.35 acres sold to Karl Creighton Pfister for $565,000.
252 Ernest Road — 2 bedroom/1 bath cottage on .85 acres sold to Meg Bumie for $465,000.
1196 Bangall Amenia Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 2.16 acres sold to Roderick Alleyne for $875,000.
Hunns Lake Road (#759929) — 59.1 acres of residential land sold to Argos Farm LLC for $3,325,000.
* Town of Stanford recorded real estate transfers from July 1 to August 31 provided by Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly transfer reports. Details on each property from Dutchess Parcel Access - properties with an # indicate location on Dutchess Parcel Access. Market data from One Key MLS and Infosparks .Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Harlem Valley area activity reportSept. 18 to Sept. 30.
Sept. 23 — Deputies responded to 1542 State Route 292 in the Town of Pawling for the report of a suspicious vehicle at that location. Investigation resulted in the arrest of Sebastian Quiroga, age 26, for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree. Quiroga to appear in the Town of Pawling court at a later date.
Sept. 30 — Deputies responded to Woodside Street in the Town of Pine Plains for a past-occurred verbal domestic dispute between a stepfather and stepson.Matter resolved without further police intervention.
PLEASE NOTE:All subjects arrested and charged are alleged to have committed the crime and are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are to appear in local courts later.
If you have any information relative to the aforementioned criminal cases, or any other suspected criminal activity please contact the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 845-605-CLUE (2583) or Emaildcsotips@gmail.com.All information will be kept confidential.
Hunt club members and friends gathered near Pugsley Hill at the historic Wethersfield Estate and Gardens in Amenia for the opening meet of the 2025-2026 Millbrook Hunt Club season on Saturday, Oct. 4. Foxhunters took off from Wethersfield’s hilltop gardens just after 8 a.m. for a hunting jaunt around Amenia’s countryside.
Joining in the fun at the dedication of the new pollinator pathway garden at The Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, local expert gardener Maryanne Snow Pitts provides information about a planting to Lorraine Mirabella of Poughkeepsie.
MILLBROOK — Participating in a patchwork of libraries that have planted pollinator pathway gardens to attract insects and birds to their native plantings was one of the accomplishments being celebrated at the dedication of a new pollinator garden at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“A lot of work went into it,” said Emma Sweeney, past President of the Millbrook Garden Club, who started the local library’s initiative two years ago.
The Pollinator Pathway program is a national effort to plant native plants that native insects depend upon for sustenance and preferred plants for their own seasonal reproduction.
Jana Hogan of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Executive Director of the Pollinator Pathway program, was on hand to present a plaque to the library for its successful participation.
“A garden is not just a garden,” said garden designer Andy Durbridge of Wassaic, designer of the library’s garden. “It may serve as a model for other gardens along the line.”
Speaking to the 50 visitors at the dedication, Durbridge said that the library’s garden has a mission, that it is a working garden, planned to serve insects and birds over their seasons. The earliest plants support pollinators, while the full range of plants continues to serve the needs of those they attract, offering habitat, shelter and food.
A pollinator garden is akin to a prairie, rather than a formalized European garden, Durbridge noted.
The garden project was supported by the library’s Friends group using funds raised during the Holiday Silent Auction and ongoing book sale. A grant from the Millbrook Garden Club also provided support.