On February 8, seventeen students representing Brice, Corprew, Fowler, Sims, Wallace, and Mount Pleasant Junior High competed in the Region VIII ESC Science and Invention Fair. Students conducted research and created their displays on their own time and had five minutes to explain their projects and findings to the judges. Projects could be Behavioral/Biological which would include the study of plants, molds, fungus, bacteria, or human and/or animal responses to the environment, or Chemical/Physical which would study the physical and chemical changes in matter. They could also submit an original invention looking to solve a real problem, satisfy a need, be practical and marketable, and include use of the Scientific Method.

In the Inventions Fair, Corprew 4th grader, Aryana Knieriem, placed 3rd with her invention, “Roy G. Biv the Robot”. Knieriem sought to create a robotic system to retrieve necessary items for those who are disabled or impaired by using colors as the main attribute for retrieval.

In the 4th grade Chemical/Physical category, Kate Cluley from Sims placed 1st with her project, “Money Ball”. Cluley tested 3 different footballs from a variety of price points to find out if price affected the quality.

In the 5th grade Chemical/Physical category, Jake Jones placed 1st with “How Weight Affects Paper Airplane Flight”. Jones constructed his very own launcher to eliminate all other factors that could affect the flight of the paper airplanes and conducted over one hundred trials, discovering that added weight slowed the flight of the paper airplane.

In the 6th grade Behavioral/Biological category, Mahir Estrada placed 1st with his project “Counting Sheep & Sleepy Drinks”. Estrada investigated how different beverages and the amount of sugar affect how quickly a person goes to sleep. In the end, Estrada found that the old wives’ tale was true: if you can’t sleep, have a glass of milk.

In the 6th grade Chemical/Physical category, Piper Hearron placed 5th with her project “Got Toxins” which compared the harmful chemicals found in candles from big chain companies versus locally owned small businesses. Hearron discovered that the big chain candles had many more toxins compared to the small business candles.

In the 7th grade Behavioral/Biological category, Zoe Zuniga placed 3rd and Katie Snyder placed 4th. Using a sound wave amplifier she buil, Zuniga’s project, “Sound Waves”, tested sound waves using powdered substances. Snyder’s project, “Nothing but Net”, tested different basketball shooting methods for accuracy, comparing a chin shot to a chest shot.

In the 7th grade Chemical/Physical category, Lia Contreras placed 2nd with her project, “DNA From a Strawberry”. Contreras explored the structure of DNA and how it is used to make-up living organisms.

Additional participants included Carter Chavez from E.C. Brice, Mallory Mancera from Vivian Fowler, Chloee Castro, Kezia Williams, Lily Henry and Nicholai Crabtree from Wallace Middle School, and Jose Olivares, Angela Ramirez, and Aiden Lane from Mount Pleasant Junior High. Science Fair and Invention Advisors were Jamie King (Brice and Corprew), Sisi Aguilar (Fowler), Lexi Litke (Sims), Kate Babcock (Wallace), Maria Sanchez (MPJH), and Martina Ramirez (MPJH).

Photos:

1-Brice: Carter Chavez

2-Corprew: Aryana Knieriem

3-Fowler: Mallory Mancera

4-MPJH:

Front (L to R) Advisor Maria Sanchez, Zoe Zuniga, Katie Snyder, Lia Contreras, Advisor Martina Ramirez

Back (L to R) Aiden Lane, Jose Olivares, Angela Ramirez

5-Sims: Kate Cluley

6-Wallace:

Front (L to R) Mahir Estrada, Jake Jones, Piper Hearron

Back (L to R) Chloee Castro, Kezia Williams, Nicholai Crabtree, Lily Henry