The 8th Annual Whatcom County Science and Engineering Fair: Igniting Innovation powered by Alcoa Intalco Works occurred on Saturday, March 7th, 2020 at The Franklin Academy’s Markell Hall. Projects at the fair ranged from Kindergarten twin sisters demonstrating how a lemon can make a clock work to a sixth grader showing how Sven (the guinea pig) will perform and complete a maze depending on different variables.

The fair was a wonderful community gathering with about 100 Kindergarten through 10th grade students representing several different schools throughout Whatcom County. Volunteer judges reviewed projects and interviewed each student (each student was interviewed by three different sets of judges). In all, about 40 judges/ professionals from Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), and education fields donated their weekend time to interact with, inspire and be inspired by the upcoming generation of STEM enthusiasts and professionals.

All participants received a t-shirt, certificate, drawstring backpack, coupon for a blizzard from Dairy Queen, and a medal for their participation. Additional awards were given for the top projects in each division, and to the top 3 scoring projects overall. The Franklin Academy 7th grade families provided a concession stand for their 8th Grade trip for next year with proceeds going to help fund their England trip in the spring.

The event was founded in 2013 as a regional fair to provide all Whatcom County students in grades K-12 an opportunity to participate in a local juried event. Students have the option to submit a project in the County fair or select to follow the Intel International Science Fair (ISEF) standards for the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair held annually in late March or early April in Bremerton. It is important to note that this is the fifth year that the fair was also open to entrants interested in submitting non-ISEF science projects: engineering and maker space projects, collections, and demonstrations.

Students had projects ranging in the following categories: Animal Science, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Biochemistry, Biomedical and Health Sciences, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Energy, Environmental Engineering, Materials Science, Mathematics, Microbiology, Physics and Astronomy, Plant and Astronomy, Plant Sciences, Robotics and Intelligent Machines, and Systems Software.

Franklin Academy is grateful to Alcoa Intalco Works for being the title sponsor for the second year and KAFE 104.1 FM for being the media sponsor. The following other generous sponsors helped to offset the costs of hosting the fair: Pacific Surveying & Engineering, Inc. (Gold), Cascade Brain & Spine Center (Gold), Island Periodontics & Implants (Gold), Dairy Queen (Silver), Port of Subs (Silver), Thomas Machine & Foundry (Silver), ANVIL (Silver),  SPIE. The international society for optics and photonics (Silver), and eResources (Silver).

The fair is traditionally open for viewing by the public from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. followed by the Awards Ceremony from 2:45 to 3:30 p.m. This allowed community members to interact with the projects and students.

“My family and I were watching a video about a world record for paper airplanes’ so I wanted to investigate how to make it fly the farthest by changing the wingspan. I determined that it’s not just the paper airplanes wingspan that helps with flight, but instead, it’s a combination of wingspan to body length ratio,” Samuel Barker a homeschool student shared. He went on to share that he found out about the fair as part of a homeschool co-program called “classical concentration,” and “bringing this project to this fair might even be a stepping stone to potentially eventually bring it to state, too.”

Instructional Assistant Sophia Camaya who volunteered as a judge highlighted, “I thought it was interesting to see kids take small ideas and expand on them.”

“This is my second experience at this Science Fair. I wanted to share my demonstration because of my passion for the ocean and what’s happening with plastic. All the items on my display board came from the ocean near my home. I learned that little pieces of tires rub off into the roads and there is a specific filter that you can get for your washer to collect the small plastic pieces,” shared Eireann M. (4thGrade).

There are so many ways that families are inspired. For example, a young homeschool participant Gracelyn M. shared, “I went to the Sparks Museum of Electrical Invention with my family. I saw very interesting scientific items and zapper. It made me start thinking about what items keep static. Did you know that only some fabrics keep static, but not metals or wood?”

It’s fun to know that peers and older friends also encourage inquiry questions about these types of projects. Rory F. a second grader in the division demonstration (math) from The Franklin Academy shared, “When I showed students in the middle school math team that I could do a Rubik’s cube they encouraged me to enter it into the fair. It’s important to know there is a pattern of moves that are algorithms to solve different cubes!”

The Whatcom County Science and Engineering Fair was organized by a planning team of staff members and parents from Franklin Academy.  Interested community members are welcome and encouraged to contact the planning team to get involved.  Planning for next year’s fair starts in October. A very special thanks to Co-Science Directors Theresa Wines and Tanya Miller who starting organization over the summer.

For more information regarding how to get involved in the WCSEF next year, and help be a judge or sponsor next year’s event, please contact any of the Science Directors Theresa Wines or Tanya Miller: . For more information regarding the Washington State Science & Engineering Fair visit: http://wssef.org/registration/

 

Results for K-4 Division:

Science Experiment sponsorship by Cascade Brain & Spine Center

1st place  –  “A Green Approach for Utilization of Bioelectricity from Mud” by Abeeha I. from Carl Cozier

2nd place – “Global Water Pollution” by Meerab I. from Carl Cozier

3rd place – “Germs vs. Cleaners” by Stanislav M. from The Franklin Academy

 

Engineering sponsored by Pacific Surveying and Engineering Services, Inc. 

1st – “Hand Powered Phone Charger” by Gabriel H. from The Franklin Academy

2nd – “How to Build a Robot” by Derek N. from The Franklin Academy

3rd – “Hydraulic JCB” by Finn B. from The Franklin Academy

 

Demonstration sponsored by Island Periodontics & Implants

1st – “All about Bees” by Lily B. from The Franklin Academy (2nd Grade)

2nd – “Lemon Clock” by Faeth and Lyllea L. from The Franklin Academy (Kindergarten)

3rd – “The Chicken” by Avalon M. from the Bellingham Family Partnership (4th Grade)

 

Collection sponsorship by Thomas Machine & Foundry

1st – “Beach Sand” by Norah H. from The Franklin Academy (2nd Grade)

2nd – “How Clouds Form” by Mellea D. from Blaine Elementary School (2nd Grade)

3rd – “All About Chicks!” by Addison K. & Adelle O. from The Franklin Academy (4th Grade)

Top Overall K-4 Sponsored by Alcoa Intalco Works

1st – “A Green Appoach for Utilization of Bioelecgricity form Mud” by Abeeha I. from Carl Cozier (4th Grade)

2nd – “All About Bees” by Lily B. from The Franklin Academy (2nd Grade)

3rd – “Global Water Pollution” by Meerab I. from Carl Cozier (4th Grade)

Results for 5-8 Division:

Science Experiment sponsorship by Cascade Brain & Spine Center

1st – “Shapes ‘N Sugar” by Arabella C. from Homeschool (7th Grade)

2nd – “C What’s Good for You” by Josh L. from The Franklin Academy (8th Grade)

3rd – “Glucose in Food” by Elsa G. and Ethaar I. from The Franklin Academy (8th Grade)

Engineering sponsored by Pacific Surveying and Engineering Services, Inc. 

1st – “You Know They Change But Do You Know How? by Ash L. from The Franklin Academy (6th Grade)

2nd – “Great Gears” by Stuart W. from The Franklin Academy (8th Grade)

3rd – “No More Gasoline!” by Lola J. from The Franklin Academy (6th Grade)

Demonstration sponsored by Island Periodontics & Implants

1st – “Demonstration of Pitch, Yaw & Roll” by Remy W. from The Franklin Academy (6th Grade)

2nd – “Electric vs. Gas Cars” by Nehchal B. from The Franklin Academy (6th Grade)

3rd – “Edible Water Bubbles” by Will C. from The Franklin Academy (6th Grade)

Awarding of Logo Contest Winner sponsored by The Franklin Academy – Tea L.

Awarding of Peoples’ Choice Winner sponsored by The Franklin Academy – “Does Wingspan Matter?” by Samuel B. from homeschool (7th Grade)

Award of Judges’ Choice Winner sponsored by The Franklin Academy – “The effect of stimuli on guinea pig performance in a maze” by Nate W. from The Franklin Academy (6th Grade)

Awarding of Women in STEM (top-scoring girl overall), Darin Wines sponsored by Anvil Corporation – “Articulation of a Mountain Lion” by Jorja H. a Homeschool student (9th Grade)

      

Top Overall 5-8 Sponsored by Alcoa Intalco Works

1st – “Shapes ‘N Sugar” by Arabella C. from Homeschool (7th Grade)

2nd – “C What’s Good for you” by Josh L. from The Franklin Academy (8th Grade)

3rd – “Raining Energy” by Ash L. from The Franklin Academy (6th Grade)

Top Three Overall 9-12 Sponsored by Alcoa Intalco Works

1st – “Articulation of a Mountain Lion” by Jorja H. a Homeschool student (9th Grade)

Tie for 2nd – “A Fusion Solution” by Isabell F. from Bellingham High School & “Occupational Radiation’ by Cate W. and Kamden I. from Bellingham High School and Squalicum High School (10th Grade)