Mendocino County Science Fair Winners Prepare for State Competition

UKIAH, CA – On Saturday, March 30, the Mendocino County Office of Education (MCOE) hosted the 33^rd annual Mendocino County Science Fair, where 212 students submitted 155 projects, representing 23 local schools. The top 10 submissions advance to the California state science fair, scheduled for April 29-30 at the California Science Center, Exposition Park in Los Angeles. Organizers there expect about 900 participants from 400 schools throughout the state to compete for more than $50,000 in awards.

Kimberly Barden, MCOE Student Events Manager thanked the team of dedicated educators, parents and community members who worked together to make the event possible. She said, “The Mendocino County Office of Education really appreciates the teachers, science fair coordinators, and parents who support the curiosity and commitment of these students in the field of science. We also deeply appreciate the 54 judges and other volunteers who made this event go so smoothly.”

Mendocino County students in grades 3-12 submitted science fair projects in several ways: as part of class projects, as teams (with two or three members), or as individuals. They entered projects in a wide variety of categories, including behavioral/health/social sciences, biological sciences, earth sciences, ecology/environmental sciences, engineering/technology (Earth/Space), mathematics as it relates to physical sciences, and physical sciences.

The winners are listed below.

CALIFORNIA STATE SCIENCE FAIR

Ten projects and three alternate projects advanced to the California State Science Fair. The Mendocino County Science Fair state judges selected the following students in grades 6-12 with Class A and Class B Projects to compete at the state level (in no particular order).

California State Science Fair – Qualified Projects

Grade Level	Student(s)	Project Title	School
9-12	Dalton Robinson	Parasite Susceptibility in Icelandic Sheep: A Comparison of Offspring of Iceland-born Rams VS American-born Rams	Mendocino High School
9-12	Yee-Kit Chan, Jaimie Yu	MSG and Cell Growth	Developing Virtue Secondary School (Girls Division)
9-12	Willow Daun-Widner	Lipids and Latex-How Common Lipids Affect the Elasticity of Medical Grade Latex	Willits Charter School
6-8	Hunter Paris	Parachute Predicament	Willits Charter School
9-12	Mariah Cox	The Effects of Wildfire Ash on Soil Nutrient Levels	Laytonville High School
6-8	Audrey Sherf	Tweeking Texts to Help Dyslexics	Willits Charter School
6-8	Jade L’Heureux	Infinity Rover	Eagle Peak Middle School
6-8	Owen Schuster, Andreas Allende	Making a Change for People Who Can’t Afford Electricity	Eagle Peak Middle School
6-8	Michael Okawa	I'm a Big Fan	Baechtel Grove Middle School
6-8	Tyler Simerson	Use and Reuse, but is Your Straw Clean?	St. Mary of the Angels

California State Science Fair – Alternate Projects

Grade Level	Student(s)	Project Title	School
6-8	YiFan Chan	Impact of Mixing Engine Oil	Ukiah Independent Study Academy
6-8	Kylie Neuroth	Carbon Dioxide Gas	Laytonville Middle School
6-8	Jonah Meyers	What are Some Methods for making Buildings Safer in an Earthquake	St. Mary of the Angels

LOGO CONTEST WINNERS

Grades 3-5

Olivia Larson

Yokayo Elementary School

ELEMENTARY DIVISION – CLASS A PROJECTS

Earth Science-Grades 3-4

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Nick Cramer	The Dam Sediment Problem	Willits Elementary Charter School

Life Science-Grades 3-4

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Abigail Sherf	A "Maze"ing Plants	Willits Elementary Charter School
Silver	Phoenix Hernandez, Sofia Vaccaro	Growing Strong	Sherwood School
Bronze	Tyler Knight	Dancing Fish	Laytonville Elementary School

Physical Science-Grades 3-4

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Skylyn Glassey	Electromagnets	Willits Elementary Charter School
Silver	Trinity Manion	Fishing Line Comparison	Laytonville Elementary School
Bronze	Eddie Bower	Testing the Physical Resistance of Pure Metal Alloys	Arena Union Elementary School

Earth Science-Grade 5

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Adalaide Montagnino, Alicia Fuentes, Lila Wigton	Petroleum Problem	Manchester Union Elementary School
Silver	Briley Leonard & Kassle Dyche	How Water Affects Soil Erosion	Eagle Peak Middle School

Life Science-Grade 5

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Kadie Balthrop	Childproof or Not?	Willits Elementary Charter School
Silver	Rios Munoz	Effects of Food Coloring	Eagle Peak Middle School

Physical Science-Grade 5

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Rudras Knoles	Wrapped in Green	Eagle Peak Middle School
Silver	Gideon Hupp	Cooking with the Sun	Tree of Life Charter School
Bronze	Joaquin Faiella, Isaac Castro	Natural Filter	Manchester Union Elementary School

JUNIOR DIVISIONS – CLASS A PROJECTS

Earth Science-Grades 6-8

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Estrella Fuentes, Giselle Mejia	Let's Clean Up This Oil Spill	Manchester Union Elementary School
Silver	Enzo Vaccaro	It's Not Rocket Science	Willits Charter School
Bronze	Nora Marin	This is Bananas!	Eagle Peak Middle School

Life Science A -Grades 6-8

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Shelby Perez Bowen	Eww! Mold!	Baechtel Grove Middle School
Silver	Jacob Kubin, Maleah Walley	#Get Filtered	Eagle Peak Middle School
Bronze	Cameron Hubley, Steven Dunnicliff, Bode Gower	How Do Different Liquids Affect the Body's Cells	St. Mary of the Angels

Life Science B -Grades 6-8

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Audrey Sherf	Tweaking Texts to Help Dyslexics	Willits Charter School
Silver	Tyler Simerson	Use and Reuse, But is Your Straw Clean	St. Mary of the Angels
Bronze	Amy Liu, Han (Jane) Zhang, Katherine Wang	To Eat or Not To Eat?	Developing Virtue Secondary School (Girls Division)

Physical Science -Grades 6-8

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Hunter Paris	Parachute Predicament	Willits Charter School
Silver	Daniel Castro, Damian Rodriguez	Electrolyte Challenge	Manchester Union Elementary School
Bronze	Michael Okawa	I'm a Big Fan	Baechtel Grove Middle School

SENIOR DIVISIONS – CLASS A PROJECTS

Earth Science-Grades 9-12

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Mariah Cox	The Effects of Wildfire Ash on Soil Nutrient Levels	Laytonville High School
Silver	Haiqi (Sola) Long, Audrey Chan	Organic Superabsorbent Polymers	Developing Virtue Secondary School (Girls Division)

Life Science A -Grades 9-12

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Dalton Robinson	Parasite Susceptibility in Icelandic Sheep: A Comparison of Offspring of Iceland-born Rams VS American-born Rams	Mendocino High School
Silver	Zoe Alvarado	Do Length, Density, or Width of Hair Affect the Texture of a Rabbit’s Pelt?	Willits Charter School
Bronze	Zoe Jordan	Finding a Correlation Between Age and Heart Rate in Oryclalagus cuniculus (Domestic Rabbit)	Willits Charter School

Life Science B -Grades 9-12

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Yee-Kit Chan, Jaimie Yu	MSG and Cell Growth	Developing Virtue Secondary School (Girls Division)

Physical Science -Grades 9-12

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Willow Daun-Widner	Lipids and Latex-How Common Lipids Affect the Elasticity of Medical Grade Latex	Willits Charter School

JUNIOR DIVISION ENGINEERING – CLASS B PROJECTS

Grades 6-8

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Jade L’Heureux	Infinity Rover	Eagle Peak Middle School
Silver	Jonah Meyers	What are Some Methods for making Buildings Safer in an Earthquake	St. Mary of the Angels
Bronze	YiFan Chan	Impact Of Mixing Engine Oil	Ukiah Independent Study Academy

CLASSROOM PROJECTS – CLASS C PROJECTS

Grades 3-5

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Student Representatives-Kamran Lopez, Calleigh Wear, and Adriana Alvarez	Germ Buster	Blosser Lane Elementary School
Silver	Room 5-Ms. McClelland's Class	Fizz Fun	Blosser Lane Elementary School
Bronze	Wren Samana, Roe Weidaw, Nishae Valente, Sasha Rodriguez, Claire Wang	Crystals from liquid to solid	Instilling Goodness Girls School

DISPLAYS/DEMONSTRATIONS – CLASS D PROJECTS

Grades 3-5

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Jen Harness	My Experiment on Invisible Ink	Willits Elementary Charter School
Silver	Vada Morgan	Electromagnetic Motor	Willits Elementary Charter School
Bronze	Jose Bernal, Ivan Bermudez	Electric Car	Arena Union Elementary

Grades 6-12

Medal	Student(s)	Project Title	School
Gold	Soren Pinelli	The Light Show	Sherwood School
Silver	Joshua Franklin	Acorn Processing	Ukiah Independent Study Academy
Bronze	Alexandra Titus	Crystal Cave	Baechtel Grove Middle School

SPECIAL AWARDS

Audrey Sherf from Willits Charter School received the Evelyn Smith Excellence in Science Award, an award established by MCOE in memory of Evelyn Smith who enthusiastically supported science education. Her efforts on behalf of the science fair benefited students, instructors, and the community.

Dalton Robinson from Mendocino High School received the California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS) Award. This award recognizes students’ scientific study and encourages them to continue developing their scientific interests. Students eligible for this award must be in grades 7-11 and meet certain criteria by CAPS.

Baechtel Creek Medical Clinic in Willits sponsored two Outstanding Junior Science Awards for a project done by an individual student in grades 3 or 4, and in grade 5. Rios Munoz from Eagle Peak Middle School and Audrey Sherf from Willits Charter School each received a Certificate of Achievement and a check in the amount of $50 from Dr. Elizabeth Olsen.

Adalaide Montagnino, Alicia Fuentes, and Lila Wigton from Manchester Union Elementary School received the Paul Joens-Poulton Avantgarde Award. This award honors Joens-Poulton’s efforts in spearheading the county science fair and his promotion of scientific education for students within the county. This award recognizes a project that would be characterized as advanced, unorthodox and/or experimental.

If you would like to volunteer in the future or would like more information, please contact Kimberly Barden at (707) 467-5100 or kbarden@mcoe.us.

Photo Caption:
Science Fair WinnersTop Row, Left to Right:
Jade L’Heureux, Dalton Robinson, Audrey Sherf, Mariah Cox, Willow Daun-Widner, Hunter Paris, Tyler SimersonBottom Row, Left to Right:
YiFan Chan, Yee-Kit Chan, Jaimie Yu, Kylie Neuroth, Jonah Meyes, Michael OkawaNot pictured:
Owen Schuster and Andreas Allende