Not A Typical Science Fair
Sonora, CA – A twist on the conventional science fair, Tuolumne County Schools hosted the STEM Symposium and Expo at the Fairgrounds Thursday night.
Event goers got a chance to explore and engage in fun activities, as the students who had entered in the Rube Goldberg Machines and Robotics categories showed off their inventions. Additionally, there were many science fiction story and scientific illustration attractions to enjoy. School officials say they were thrilled that this first year of this new format resulted in a bigger than expected response from students, as the goal was to create “something different” and involve students who had not participated in past STEM projects.
The final event of the evening, the Awards Ceremony, capped this year’s fair. All students received a Certificate of Participation and a ribbon. Here is the list of winners:
| Award | Grade | School | Title | Name |
| Rosette | 5th | Twain Harte | Should we use that gray water? | Emily Rich |
| Karen Bakerfield Award Best – Trophy | 7th | Connections Academy | Sand Reflectance: Does Beach Sand Reflect More Light Than Desert Sand? | Taryn Tolhurst |
| Best – Trophy | 6th | Soulsbyville | The Easy Spreader | Gregory Crook |
| Rosette | 7th | Twain Harte | Can you upcycle a chainsaw into an RC car? | Tyler Lassa |
| Rosette | 8th | Belleview | Haul’n Up The Hill | Ryan Dunlap |
| Rosette | 8th | Soulsbyville | Got ZZZZZ…? | Alan Wells |
| Rosette | 5th | Soulsbyville | Suck It Up! | Katie Dinatale |
| Rosette | 5th | Columbia | Will Peace Lilies Absorb Food Coloring Through Their Roots and Into the Flower? | Danielle Insilan |
| Karen Bakerfield Award Best – Trophy | 6th | Soulsbyville | Can I Drink That Water? | Sarah Bruno |
| Rosette | 6th | Curtis Creek | Feel the Music | Jonah Gray |
| Rosette | 6th | Soulsbyville | All Hands In | Emily Snyder |
| Best – Trophy | 7th | Curtis Creek | Therapy Paws | Emily Van Noord, Addie McIlroy |
| Rosette | 7th | Soulsbyville | Hungry for Science? | Vanessa Anderson |
| Rosette | 7th | Columbia | Investigating Taste Zones in the Mouth | Kristina Thompson |
| Best – Trophy | 8th | Soulsbyville | Musicophilla (the love of music) | Mika Taylor |
| Rosette | 8th | Curtis Creek | Crabitats | Reese Parkan, Gabby McRee |
| Rosette | 8th | Soulsbyville | Tiny Terrors on Your Toothbrush | Paul Bruce |
| Rosette | High School | Gold Rush | Does Personality Type Affect Color Preference? | Julianne Jarvis, Kenia Santos |
| Best – Trophy | 5th | Soulsbyville | Got Vitamin C? | Hannah Husher |
| Rosette | 5th | Curtis Creek | Gone With The Wind! | Mattie Knobloch |
| Rosette | 5th | Curtis Creek | What’s Smoking? | Sofia Vasquez |
| Best – Trophy | 6th | Gold Rush | How does the Amount of Pressure in a Potato Cannon Effect the Projectile Range? | Athan Tippett |
| Rosette | 6th | Sonora | Improving Solar Panels | Bailey Johnson |
| Rosette | 6th | Columbia | Reaction Rockets | Nathan Winans |
| Best – Trophy | 7th | Curtis Creek | Methods of Cleaning Water | Vicente Redwing |
| Rosette | 7th | Columbia | Tea Time | Makenzie Navarro, Anna Gillespie |
| Rosette | 7th | Soulsbyville | Ohm Sweet Ohm | Robert Bollinger |
| Best – Trophy | 8th | Curtis Creek | Magnet Muscle | Ryan St. Clair |
| Rosette | 8th | Soulsbyville | Coolest Cooling | Jonas Gray |
| Rosette | 8th | Curtis Creek | Can I Drink This? | Trent Tanko |
| Rosette | High School | Connections Academy | Will My Note Pan Out? | Cheyenne Simnitt |
