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IPA Students Compete at 2017 HAIS District Science Fair

Twenty-one IPA Grade 6-8 students proudly presented their research projects at the 2017 Hawaiʻi Association of Independent Schools (HAIS) District Science Fair at Hawaiʻi Baptist Academy on Saturday, February 18. Six of these impressive young IPA researchers will be moving on to compete at the 2017 Hawaiʻi State Science & Engineering Fair (HSSEF) on April 10-12 at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center.

The HAIS District Science Fair is the second-tier of competition, and is one of nine district-level fairs that select the top projects from each region to advance to the state-level competition. IPA has been well-represented at HSSEF in past years, and the students who have secured a spot at this year’s HSSEF are:

  • Ian Kam (’21) – “Terraforming Mars” – First Place Overall Junior Research
  • Zaheer Gulko & Aubrey Ramsbottom (’22) – “Coral Settlement”
  • Nathan Okimoto (’22) – “Infinite Energy?”
  • Ken Nakatsu (’22) – “Got a Dent in that Bottle?”
  • Emma Rose Layaoen (’22) – “Wrap It”

 

Student talking to science fair judge.
Ami Lisenbee (’21) presents her research project on echolocation to one of the volunteer judges from NOAA.
Two students present their work to a science fair judge.
Grade 7 students, Zaheer Gulko and Aubrey Ramsbottom, discuss factors affecting coral settlement with a science fair judge.
Two female student pose in front of their science fair poster board.
Victoria Chau (’22) and Kristin Chun (’22) studied the correlation between personality and music genre preferences.
Students pose in front of their science fair projects.
Andie LeDoux (’21) and Ian Kam (’21) stand in front of their science fair project boards. Andie looked at the effect of surf wax on ocean pH levels, and Ian examined whether plants could germinate on Mars. Ian received First Place overall in the Junior Research category.
Student talking to judge at science fair.
Nathan Okimoto (’22) explains the possibility of infinite energy at the HAIS District Science Fair.
Two students in front of their project boards.
Amelia Mullen (’22) and Meta Bradley (’22) finished second and first place, respectively, at the IPA Middle School Science Fair to advance to the HAIS District Science Fair.

“I am so very proud of the students!  The caliber of the science fair projects was impressive,” said  Kip Cummings, Secondary Principal. “A huge thank you to the teachers who guided the scientific process and helped our students excel at the District level.  Extremely well done to all participants.”

The road to the Hawaiʻi State Science & Engineering Fair begins at the school level. Each Fall, all IPA students in Grades 6-8, individually or in small groups, research and design a science project, then spend time in class and at home collecting and analyzing data, culminating in the public presentation of their research projects at the annual ISLAND PACIFIC ACADEMY Middle School Science Fair in January. This year, the 10th annual science fair was held on January 12 on the IPA campus.

“This was our 10th annual science fair and it was truly a showcase of our students’ talents,” shared Michelle Bradley, Secondary Vice Principal and Science Fair Coordinator. “It was important that our students were able to investigate topics that really interested them – asking questions, making predictions, and drawing conclusions – allowing them to construct their own understanding in a more meaningful way.”

A total of 96 projects were presented at this year’s middle school fair, representing a range of categories including Animal Sciences; Behavioral and Social Sciences; Biomedical and Health Science; Chemistry; Energy – Physical; Engineering Mechanics; Environmental Engineering; Materials Science; and Plant Sciences.

More than 20 professionals from the Kapolei community (including IPA parents), as well as five IPA high school students who had competed at the district or state level, served as judges for the competition. Judges spent the morning interacting with the young scientists – listening to oral presentations, viewing project boards, asking questions, critiquing, and providing valuable feedback.

The diversity of the students’ interests was reflected in their projects. Research topics were wide-ranging – coral settlement; personality disorders; immune system mechanics; infinite energy; dolphin ecolocation; and terraforming Mars. Questions like “what cleans my dog’s teeth the best”, “should we drink caffeine”, “are left-handers or right-handers more creative”, and “does SPF help” were all worthy of scientific inquiry.

Judge and student interacting.
A volunteer judge asks questions of Dana Cabral (’22) about her research project at the IPA Middle School Science Fair.
Student with science fair judge.
Rain Eldakhakhni (’22) examined which method of delivery of medications, oral or topical, is most effective.
Female student explains her project to two judges.
Juliana Lencinas (’22) shares her research results with two volunteer judges at the IPA Middle School Science Fair.
Student answers questions from a judge.
Myles Machida (’21) gets questioned by a volunteer judge at the IPA Middle School Science Fair. Myles received Honorable Mention in the Chemistry category for his project.
Two students present plant project.
Ellis Tscha (’22) and Alex Aladieff (’22) present their plant research to a volunteer judge.

IPA Science Fair Awards for the top research projects in each category, and honorable mentions, were presented  in a middle school Town Hall on January 18. Eighteen of those projects advanced to the HAIS District Science Fair.

Student receives Honorable Mention certificate on stage.
Peyton Reynolds (’21) receives his Honorable Mention certificate in the Animal Sciences category from Ms. Kuffel, middle school science teacher, and Kip Cummings, Secondary Principal.
Student receives first place certificate.
Melissa Axelrod (’22) won first place in the Chemistry category with her project on “Your Skin and Your Henna”.
Students receive certificates for science project.
Grade 6 students Cameron Cintron and Anthony Ahu-Fisher received Honorable Mention honors for their project on the effects of global warming on plant growth.

The six students who were selected Saturday at the HAIS District Science Fair now advance to the state level and will spend the next month making final edits to their presentation boards and practicing their oral presentations before the HSSEF competition in April. The top five projects from the HSSEF will represent the State of Hawaiʻi at the International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) held in May.