Seven ISLAND PACIFIC ACADEMY middle school students proudly represented their school at the 60th Hawaiʻi State Science & Engineering Fair at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center on April 10-12, 2017. The seventh and eighth graders, including Emma Rose Layaoen (’22), Aubrey Ramsbottom (’22), Zaheer Gulko (’22), Ken Nakatsu (’22), Nate Okimoto (’22), Andie LeDoux (’21), and Ian Kam (’21), earned spots at the 2017 HSSEF after advancing at the HAIS District Science Fair in February.
Presentation of the students’ research projects at the 2017 HSSEF was the culmination of months of hard work and several levels of competition, beginning with the IPA Middle School Science Fair in January. The science fair experience required students to propose a scientific experiment, plan the experimental design, conduct the research, create a display board of the project, and present the findings to scientists and the public, first at the school level, then at the HAIS District fair. At each level of competition, students had the opportunity to make revisions to their projects based on feedback from judges before competing at the HSSEF.
At the HSSEF, student participants were evaluated on oral presentations of their display boards and research projects by the competition judges, who included scientists and individuals from relevant community and professional organizations. All of the IPA students competed well and represented themselves and the school very professionally. Several IPA students placed in their respective categories, including Ian Kam, whose project, “Mars is Ours! Terraforming the Red Planet,” won first place in the Environmental Engineering category, and Nate Okimoto, who placed first in the category of Energy: Physical with his project, “Infinite Energy.”
In addition, Ian Kam, Ken Nakatsu, and Nathan Okimoto were nominated for the Broadcom MASTERS, the premier science and engineering competition for middle school students. This national competition is comprised of the top 10{ecf245a61dbeb35a782c86c44f242cdc7d98fa7632a752b76c5afca81a7454ba} of 6th-8th grade students across the nation. Of those students nominated, 300 of the top projects will be selected and 30 finalists will be chosen to present their research projects in September in Washington, DC.
Middle school science teacher and science fair mentor, Alyssa Kuffel, was impressed with the students’ hard work and dedication. “Words can not describe how proud I am to have been the mentor teacher for our students this year,” she shared. “They each did a phenomenal job, not only with their project presentation but also with how well they each represented our school! Our students received two top project finishes, two second place projects, three Broadcom Masters, and many special awards. They set the bar high for students to come! IPA rocks!”
Here’s how the IPA students finished:
Ian Kam (’21)
- First Place – Environmental Engineering
- Broadcom Masters – Nomination to National Competition
- Chevron/Texaco – $125 Best in Environment JR
- American Public Works Association – $50
- Hawaii Astronomical Society – certificate, membership, and subscription
Andie LeDoux (’21)
- Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology- $50
Zaheer Gulko (’22) and Aubrey Ramsbottom (’22)
- Second Place – Animal Sciences
- NOAA Award – $100 JR Division/6th-8th Grade
Ken Nakatsu (’22)
- Second Place – Chemistry
- Broadcom Masters – Nomination to National Competition
Nate Okimoto (’22)
- First Place – Energy: Physical
- Broadcom Masters – Nomination to National Competition
- College of Engineering at UH Mānoa – $100
