By Dagney Palmer, Lili Samios, Forest Langhorne
Leesburg, VA- On Thursday, February 10th, biology students participating in the Tuscarora Science and Engineering Fair were judged on their projects, marking the end of a year-long process commonly referred to as the SRP (science research project). While the end of the SRP generated mixed reactions, most of them were resoundingly positive.
Honors biology students stood by their displays in the Tuscarora gym from 9:30 to 12:00 to be judged. There were eight categories with up to six judges for each category. After they were judged, the students received a nice break for lunch and the showing of a movie, The Social Network, in the auditorium.
During this time, eight students were called out to be re-interviewed by a group of eight judges; one from each category. These students were selected as the winners of their category and have the opportunity to go on to the regional science and engineering fair on March 17th. They each received a $40 gift card and a gold medal. The winners, their categories, and grades are listed respectively:
Behavioral and Social Sciences category winner – Ben Fuhrmann (9th grade)
Biology and Plant Sciences category winner – Edward Hill (9th grade)
Chemistry category winner – Sarah Hilado (10th grade)
Medicine and Health Sciences category winner – Yuna Miyamoto (10th grade)
Physics and Astronomy category winner – Dagney Palmer (10th grade)
Environmental Sciences category winner – Jenny Klug (10th grade)
Energy and Transportation category winner – Mary Douglas (9th grade)
Engineering category winner – Daniel Kavanaugh (10th grader)
9th grader Natalie Rosas was announced the Best of Fair winner, receiving a $100 gift card and a plaque.
Students had mixed feelings about the science fair and the end of the science research project; 10th grader Juliana Jackson had this to say about the SRP, “It was fun, it was stressful, and yes; it’s over!” Juliana won 2nd place in the Chemistry category for her project. About the actual fair, Juliana said, “The interviews were stressful, but other than that it was fun because. . . you had like an hour of being interviewed and then the rest of it was just chilling and talking to your friends,”
Mary Douglas, a category winner, said, “it’s kind of exciting,” when asked how she felt about the end of the science fair.
Best of Fair winner Natalie Rosas explained that she had a lot of mixed feelings about the end of this two-year project, saying, “it’s kind of sad because we worked so hard and now it’s over.”
Ms. Smith, the science chair and one of the three Honors Biology teachers at Tuscarora, said about the end of the Science fair, “Science Fair was a big success and I was very proud of all the students who participated. The Science research project is officially ended for the sophomores but now it is time to prepare the freshman… I hope they[the regional science fair contestants] have the opportunity to meet other students from other schools and see what others have accomplished. They also will be interviewed by judges again, and I believe the Tuscarora Science Fair has prepared them enough for this event.”