Youth Innovators Recognized At Calaveras Science Fair
San Andreas, CA — The 39th annual Calaveras County Science Fair recently exhibited the talents and achievements of students in 4th through 8th grades.
Put on by the Calaveras Office of Education, there were 43 projects on display from students attending 10 different schools. Students competed in four categories, Physical Science and Engineering, Life Science, Behavioral and Cognitive Science, and Math and Computer Science.
Each student was interviewed by a pair of judges and given time to explain and discuss their projects. 14 judges used a rubric score sheet to rate each project on a variety of criteria. Some of the top finishers received cash awards. Those in sixth grade and above with some of the top scores move on to showcase their work at the California State Engineering Fair.
The local event was held this past Saturday at the Calaveras River Academy/Mountain Oaks School Gymnasium.
The results are below:
GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Declan Needham, Avery Middle School, 8th grade, “Detecting AI”
WINNERS SELECTED TO GO TO CALIFORNIA SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FAIR, APRIL 16th
Aiden Murphy, San Andreas Elementary, 6th Grade, “Red, Blue, Green: The Stroop Effect”
Declan Neeham, Avery Middle School, 8th grade, “Detecting AI”
Michelle French, CFLC-Libertas Academy, 6th grade, “Walking Water”
BEST PHYSICAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PROJECT
1st Place ($250) – Morgan Nelson, Albert Michelson Elementary, 4th grade, “Using Kitchen Products to Extinguish a Grease Fire”
2nd Place ($100) – Anderson Christian, Hazel Fischer Elementary, 5th grade, “Guitars and Temperatures”
3rd Place ($50) – Tie (2 Winners)
Greta Christian, Hazel Fischer Elementary, 4th grade, “Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder”
Michelle French, CFLC-Libertas Academy, 6th grade, “Walking Water”
BEST LIFE SCIENCE PROJECT
1st Place ($250) – Emily McCartney, Mokelumne Hill Elementary, 5th grade, “Do You Like Berries?”
2nd Place ($100) – Violette Segraves, CFLC-Libertas Academy, “Shine Your Light”
3rd Place ($50) – Tie (2 Winners)
Anna Broglio, Mark Twain Elementary, 6th grade, “The Proof is in the PH”
River Hessels, Albert Michelson Elementary, 5th grade, “Chinampas”
BEST BEHAVIORAL AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE PROJECT
1st Place ($250) – Aiden Murphy, San Andreas Elem., 6th grade, “Red, Blue, Green: The Stroop Effect”
2nd Place ($100) – Skyla Hackett, Hazel Fischer Elementary, 5th grade, “Color Taste Test”
3rd Place ($50) – Alivia Stafford, Copperopolis Elementary, 6th grade, “Tasting With Your Eyes”
BEST MATH AND COMPUTER SCIENCE PROJECT
1st Place ($250) – Declan Needham, Avery Middle School, 8th grade, “Detecting AI”
2nd Place ($100) – Eleanor Dondero, Albert Michelson Elementary, 4th grade, “You Are What You Watch”
{3rd Place ($50) – no entry}
BEST DEMONSTRATION (NON-COMPETITIVE) PROJECT
Arabelle Haughton, Mountain Oaks, 8th grade, “Burger King vs Homemade: What’s Healthier?”
SCIENCE PROJECT RIBBONS WINNERS BASED ON RUBRIC SCORE
1st Place Winners
Anderson Christian, Hazel Fischer Elementary, 5th grade, “Guitars and Temperatures”
Morgan Nelson, Albert Michelson Elem., 4th grade, “Using Kitchen Products to Extinguish a Grease Fire”
Greta Christian, Hazel Fischer Elementary, 4th grade, “Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder”
Declan Needham, Avery Middle School, 8th grade, “Detecting AI”
Michelle French, CFLC-Libertas Academy, 6th grade, “Walking Water”
2nd Place Winners
Aiden Murphy, San Andreas Elementary, 6th grade, “Red, Blue, Green: The Stroop Effect”
Skyla Hackett, Hazel Fischer Elementary, 5th grade, “Color Taste Test”
Finn Murphy, San Andreas Elementary, 4th grade, “Crater Impact!”
Levi Graham, Valley Springs El., 5th grade, “Which Coca Cola Flavor has the Biggest Explosion with Mentos Candy”
Sadie Hendrickson, Albert Michelson Elementary, 5th grade, “Thirsty Orbeez”
Emily McCartney, Mokelumne Hill Elementary, 5th grade, “Do You Like Berries?”
Violette Segraves, CFLC-Libertas Academy, 7th grade, “Shine Your Light”
Eleanor Dondero, Albert Michelson Elementary, 4th grade, “You are What You Watch”
3rd Place Winners
Alivia Stafford, Copperopolis Elementary, 6th grade, “Tasting With Your Eyes”
Adrian Burkhead, Valley Springs Elementary, 5th grade, “The Best Wing of Flight”
Abigail Fabela, Mokelumne Hill Elementary, 6th grade, “Got Plastic”
Clairissa Killip, Mokelumne Hill Elementary, 4th grade, “Which Paper Airplane Flies the Farthest”
River Hessels, Albert Michelson Elementary, 5th grade, “Chinampas”
Anna Broglio, Mark Twain Elementary, 6th grade, “The Proof is in the PH”
Joy Moore, Mountain Oaks, 5th grade, “Is the Five Second Rule Real?”
Honorable Mention Awards
Lewis Hitchcock, Albert Michelson Elementary, 4th grade, “Sink the Boats!”
Delaney Forgette & Roxen Aguiar, Mokelumne Hill Elementary, 4th grade, “Tap Water vs Salt Water”
Ruby Beckman, Albert Michelson Elementary, 5th grade, “What Type of Soil Holds the Most Water”
Jude Turnbeaugh, Mountain Oaks, 4th grade, “Tensegrity”
Colette Schultz, CFLC-Libertas Academy, 5th grade, “Flower Power”
Cleo Scruggs, San Andereas Elementary, 4th grade, “Germ Free”
Aleah Lehman, Copperopolis Elementary, 6th grade, “How Sugar Affects Your Blood Sugar”
Participation Awards
Wyatt Bain, Valley Springs Elementary, 4th grade, “Wyatt’s Paper Airplane Experiment”
Kaiya Kreisberg, Albert Michelson Elementary, 5th grade, “Electricity”
Levi Dietrich, Hazel Fischer Elementary, 4th grade, “Shocking Produce”
Eva Russakovsky, San Andreas Elementary, 5th grade, “Conductors of Electricity”
Joseph Hurley, Valley Springs Elementary, “Science is Magnetic”
Nolan Caffey, San Andreas Elementary, 4th grade, “Tornado in a Bottle”
Dean McCormick, Albert Michelson Elementary, 4th grade, “Testing Magnet Strength”
Rory Needham, Hazel Fischer Elementary, 5th grade, “The Chocolate did it…?”
Alexander Posadas, Valley Springs Elementary, 5th grade, “What Battery Brand Lasts the Longest?”
Natalie Nieves, Valley Springs Elementary, 5th grade, “What Soil Holds Water the Best”
Natalie Herd, San Andreas Elementary, “Which Metal Melts the Fastest”
Ethan Laker, Hazel Fischer Elementary, 5th grade, “How Gross Are We?”
Bella Segraves, CFLC-Libertas Academy, “Whose Breath is That?”
Bennett Wooten, Hazel Fischer Elementary, 4th grade, “The Power of Baking Soda”
Kali Lusk & Breille Bradley, Copperopolis El., 5th grade, “What Plants Will Live or Die, Feeding Them Different Liquids”
Lucas Moyers, Valley Springs Elementary, 5th grade, “Lizard Tails”
