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”
“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.
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.
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.