The 7th Annual Whatcom County Science and Engineering Fair: Elements of Discovery powered by Alcoa occurred on Saturday, March 9, 2019, at Franklin Academy’s Markell Hall.
The fair was a wonderful community gathering with 115 individual students representing 12 different schools and two home school networks throughout Whatcom County. Grades Kindergarten through ninth grade displayed 69 individual and group projects. Volunteer judges reviewed projects and interviewed each student (each student was interviewed by three different judges). In all, 44 judges/ professionals from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields donated their time on Saturday 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 8th grade families provided a concession stand, 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 the 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 fourth 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 KAFE 104.1 FM for being the media sponsor and the following generous sponsors help to offset the costs of hosting the fair: ALCOA (Title Sponsor), Dairy Queen (Gold), STEM Tutoring (Silver), Thomas Machine & Foundry, Barnhart Contracting Remodel and Restoration (Silver), Island Periodontics & Implants (Silver), eResources, Port of Subs, Bellingham Makerspace, SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention, Rook & Rogue Board Game Pub, The Comics Place, Master Party Rentals, Marine Life Center, Summit Trampoline Park, Launching Success, and SPIE.
This year, the fair was 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. Projects ranged from effects of how plants respond to light to a Kindergarten student sharing about Animals and their Habitats.
“Thought it was interesting to apply what we are learning in 5th Grade science about the chemical reaction and endangered animals. It was fun to prepare for this event”, said Asher L. from Franklin Academy
“This is my first competitive Science Fair with so many people, and I like the setup of this event because it is a real competition that will allow me to compare to other projects. I think the process will challenge me to evaluate if I can think of a more complex project in the future. This is my second time at the school, as the first time was the chess tournament. I am thankful that my school encouraged me to join.” Ed H., Alderwood Elementary School
“I like Science Fair. You can be with your friends and go all out with every step of the process. Sometimes they ask you a question you’ve never thought of so it forces you to think on your toes,” said Christian L. a 5th Grader from Franklin Academy.
“I have been watching the news and heard that some people don’t have clean water. I wanted to figure out how to do that”, said Muhammad Wasil Z. from Carl Cozier Elementary School. He wanted to figure out what is the most effective and cost-efficient method of purifying water: solar-powered destination, reserve osmosis, or sand and activated carbon filtration. “Now that I know that solar-powered distillation system was the most effective with my experimentation, so I want to create methods of water purification in the future to help third world countries.”
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.
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 Fair Coordinators Theresa Wines, Tanya Miller or Heather Carter: sciencefair@franklinacastg.wpengine.com.
For more information regarding the Washington State Science & Engineering Fair visit: http://wssef.org/registration/
Special Thanks to Co-Science Coordinators: Theresa Wines, Heather Carter, and Tanya Miller.
Overall Awards
sponsored by ALCOA
| 3rd | Washing Water: Analyzing Effectiveness and Cost-efficiency of Water Purification Grade 4, Carl Cozier Muhammad Wasil Z. |
| 2nd | Fueling the Future – Fuel Cells Grade 8, Kulshan Middle School Mhammad Shahmeer I. |
| 1st | Hemascopes Grade 9, Bellingham High School Cate Wines |
SCIENCE EXPERIMENT Top Three
sponsored by Island Periodontics & Implants
| 3rd | What Type of Wood Takes the Longest to Cut Through Grade 3, Franklin Academy Ajax N. |
| 2nd | Bio-diesel: Cooking Oil as Renewable Energy Grade 2, Carl Cozier Elementary Fatimah Z. |
| 1st | Washing Water: Analyzing Effectiveness and Cost-efficiency of Water Purification Grade 4, Carl Cozier Elementary Muhammad Z. |
ENGINEERING / MAKER Top Three
sponsored by Thomas Machines & Foundry
| 3rd | Beam Bridges Grade 4, Franklin Academy Sophie B., Xander B., Rian L. |
| 2nd | Arch Bridges Grade 4, Franklin Academy Téa L., Diya P., Logan R. |
| 1st | Suspension Bridges Grade 4, Franklin Academy Jacob G. and Neesha R. |
DEMONSTRATION Top Three
sponsored by Barnhart Contracting, LLC
| 3rd | All About Jupiter Grade 3, Franklin Academy Anabelle B. and Natalya D. |
| 2nd | All About Sharks Grade 3, Franklin Academy Maeve C. |
| 1st | How Do Airplanes Fly? Grade 1, Bellingham Family Partnership Riley V. |
COLLECTION Top Three
sponsored by SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention
| 3rd | Float or Sink Grade 1, Homeschool Gracelyn M. |
| 2nd | Owls Have Trash Too – Owl Pellets Grade 4, Homeschool Mason M. |
| 1st | Sea Glass Grade 3, Franklin Academy Norah H. |
SCIENCE EXPERIMENT Top Three
sponsored by Island Periodontics & Implants
| 3rd | Rocks in Lemonade Grade 6, Franklin Academy Trevor S., Kaylee S., Hailee W., Hannah Y. |
| 2nd | The Best Way to Clean Teeth After Eating A Lollipop Grade 5, Franklin Academy Fiona H. |
| 1st | Fueling the Future – Fuel Cells Grade 8, Kulshan Middle School Muhammad I. |
ENGINEERING / MAKER Top Three
sponsored by Thomas Machines & Foundry
| 3rd | Save the Endangered Species Grade 5, Franklin Academy Kaveer D., Sukhraj R., Tee T. |
| 2nd | The Environmental Bot Grade 8, Franklin Academy Lily H. and April M. |
| 1st | Project Pill Grade 5, Franklin Academy Harjas G. and Ash L. |
DEMONSTRATION Top Three
sponsored by Barnhart Contracting, LLC
| 3rd | H2O Timer Grade 8, Franklin Academy Lauren C. |
| 2nd | Extinction Exists Grade 5, Franklin Academy Brice T., Olivia V., Jillian Z. |
| 1st | The Tiny Islands Grade 5, Franklin Academy Jocelyn H., Christian L., Andre M. |
| JUDGES’ CHOICE AWARD sponsored by Friends of Franklin Academy |
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| My Cool Rocks and Fossils Grade 3, Bellingham Parent Partnership Program Avalon M. |
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| PEOPLES’ CHOICE AWARD sponsored by Friends of Franklin Academy |
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| Fueling the Future – Fuel Cells Grade 8, Kulshan Middle School Muhammad I. |
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| LOGO CONTEST WINNER sponsored by Friends of Franklin Academy |
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| Grade 8, Franklin Academy Pepper B. |
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| WOMEN IN STEM AWARD sponsored by STEM Tutoring |
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| Hemascopes Grade 9, Bellingham High School Cate W. |
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