The 68th annual San Juan Basin Regional Science Fair brought together more than 80 students from over a dozen schools Wednesday at Fort Lewis College. Students shared their findings from a range of unique, thought-provoking science projects developed over several weeks.
Projects encompassed a wide range of topics, including the environment, aerodynamics and artificial intelligence. Others dived into niche topics like which music a chicken responds to most favorably, how much sugar is in different types of cereal and whether the “five-second rule” really applies to dropped food. (The five-second rule refers to food dropped on the floor being safe to eat if picked up within five seconds.)
Awards for first- through third-place were given across 20 categories, along with a few honorable mention ribbons, and the top-scoring projects became eligible for the state science fair.
The fair is typically open only to students in sixth through 12th grade – but one errant third grader made history this year by being the youngest entrant organizers can remember.
Park Elementary student Jackson Hayden, 9, set out to create a mini Tesla Cybertruck and had a drivable model to show for it by the time the fair arrived.
He said the hardest part of the project was learning “the electrical stuff.”
Jackson is still working on the mini car – which boasts a 3,000 rpm motor and a 48-volt battery – with the goal of eventually getting it up to a top speed of 38 mph.
“It doesn’t go very fast now, but once you get it going, it’s like, ‘ZOOM,’” he said.
Jackson found the competition online, and his mom called organizers to ask if he could join, said San Juan BOCES staff member Robyn Kellogg, who has been involved with the fair for over 10 years.
“This is unique for us,” Kellogg said. “It should only be sixth grade and up, but he found this on his own and pursued it and wanted to be here. His mom called and was like, ‘He really wants to be in a science fair.’ We’re like, ‘We’ll make it happen.’ He’s our youngest participant possibly ever, and this is our 68th year doing this.”
Powerhouse Educator and Science Fair Regional Director Rachel Santi said the fair encourages students to tackle real-world issues.
“It’s important because we’re inspiring these young minds to get involved in early problem-solving in real-life situations, especially when it comes to climate change and those environmental projects,” she said.
Eleventh grader Brynn Hamm – the only student at the fair from Silverton High School – presented a project that investigated how to decompose plastic with fungi.
She used blue oyster mushrooms to break down pieces of a plastic water bottle over the course of two weeks – a process that usually takes three to six months, she said.
It was Brynn’s first time entering the science fair, and though she said she gets anxious about presenting, she would recommend the experience to other students.
“Just don’t be afraid – get out there,” she said.
Other students, such as Mancos High School 11th grader Cuinn Archer, who has been attending the fair since sixth grade, are old pros at presenting their work.
Cuinn, whose project revolved around making a wireless remote-controlled car that can measure, mark and lay out an area, has had projects advance to the state-level science fair four times.
“I just enjoy making things, and I might as well do it for more of a cause than just making it,” he said of why the fair keeps drawing him back.
Mancos middle schooler Emmett Barger used his experience in waterfowl hunting to inform his project, which explored which type of semiautomatic shotgun – an inertia- or gas-driven model – is more effective and humane when hunting wild game.
“I want to know which one is more ethical and performs the best when hunting, because as a hunter, I hate seeing animals suffer, especially as a pet owner,” he said. “I knew I had to do the science fair, but I didn’t want to just do it for the grade. I wanted to create something unique, and I also wanted to do something that I’m passionate about.”
The event, made possible by San Juan BOCES and The Powerhouse, gave students the opportunity to tour a range of science labs at the school between presentations, including chemistry, biology and animal labs, and the astronomy observatory.
Fort Lewis College Associate Professor of Chemistry Callie Cole called the science fair “the most joyous science event in Durango.”
“My favorite part is connecting the kiddos with the professors so they can see their lab spaces,” she said. “A lot of times, it’s their first time on a college campus, ever. I didn’t see the inside of a college lab until I was in college, and the kids from Dove Creek, kids from Ignacio – they all get to see actual experiments happening on a college campus in our labs.”
Cole said the fair provides students with valuable skills they can use throughout their lives – regardless of whether they ultimately work in science.
“It doesn’t matter what career these kids choose – I think just being curious, exploring a question thoroughly, and those critical-thinking skills and presentation skills, the oral presentation skills, they apply every year,” she said.
“I’m biased – I want them all to become scientists – but the skills they develop at the science fair are applicable to whatever career they can dream of,” she said. “At the end of the science fair, my cheek muscles hurt from smiling, because the students are so enthusiastic about their projects. And it is contagious. It is 100% contagious.”
epond@durangoherald.com
