2020 Southwest Regional Science Fair

Western hosted the 2020 Regional Science Fair, judged by local scientific experts.  

Western Wyoming Community College hosted Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) students, grades 6-12, who participated in the Southwest Regional Science Fair, Thursday, January 30^th, 2020.

The Fair is an opportunity for students to apply their STEM knowledge, engage in scientific thought, and gain new ideas and knowledge from peers and educators. Local STEM teachers dedicate much of their time to prepare their students for this educational opportunity.

The Regional Science Fair is an affiliate of Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. The categories, divisions, rules and judging criteria of the Fair are in line with the Intel ISEF requirements.

This year, there were 89 participants, and 71 projects from the following schools: Big Piney Middle School, Big Piney High School, Kemmerer Jr. High School, Pinedale Middle School, Star Valley Jr. High. The results are as follows:

Overall Winner:

• 1^st place: William Hibbert from Big Piney Middle School. His project was on the presence of micro plastics in Fontenelle Reservoir. He was also awarded a scholarship to Western Wyoming Community College.

Animal Sciences: All won by Pinedale Middle School

• 1^st place: Wyatt Griffin and Dustin Larsen - Do You Even Grow Bro?
• 2^nd place: Kemmer Clause - Where are the Big Ones
• 3^rd place: Melissa Layne and Dodge Normington - A Dog’s Life

Plant Sciences:

• 1^st place: Shayla Frazier (Star Valley) - How Different Colored Lights Affect a Spider Plant’s Growth
• 2^nd place: Delaney Day (Pinedale) - Battle of the Elements
• 3^rd place: Damien Burgess (Star Valley) - Plants Grow under the Power of Different Colored Lights!

Behavioral and Social Sciences:

• 1^st place: Ana Mika (Pinedale) - Moody Toons
• 2^nd place: Sarah Helm (Pinedale) - Give Your Ear to Learning
• 3^rd place tie:
  • Madisen Evans and Julia Hymas (Big Piney) - The Effect of Music on the Avian Heart Rate
  • Liam O’Connor and Mekiah Strom (Pinedale) - Cyantific Heart Rate

Biomedical & Health Sciences/Biomedical Engineering/Translational Medical Sciences:

• 1^st place: Graham Harber and Bill Harber (Pinedale) - Can You Escape The Vape, Vol. 2
• 2^nd place: Austin Ruvalcaba and Kelby Staley (Big Piney) - The Effect of Colloidal Silver Water on Escherichia coli, K-12
• 3^rd place: Trista Covill and Seren Noble (Pinedale) - Water You Drinking

Chemistry/Energy:

• 1^st place: Keston Johnson (Star Valley) - The Best Battery for the Buck
• 2^nd place: Kailie Alcorn (Big Piney) - The Effect of Well Location on the Quantity of Sodium in Home Water Wells of Sublette County, Wyoming
• 3^rd place: Isabella Allen and Kelsey Cooper (Pinedale) - Code Red

Biochemistry/Cellular & Molecular Biology/Bioinformatics/ & Computational Biology:

• 1^st place: Charlotte Crook (Star Valley) - The Bacterial Content in Milk
• 2^nd place: Maddie Strgar (Star Valley) - Gum Flavor Longevity
• 3^rd place: Arianne Dearden and Gracee Painter (Kemmerer) - Strawberries

Earth & Environmental Sciences/Environmental Engineering:

• 1^st place: William Hibbert (Big Piney) - The Presence of Micro Plastics in Fontenelle Reservoir
• 2^nd place: KaLee Bohnet (Pinedale) Phos-Chek or False-Chek
• 3^rd place: Ashley Boulter and Kelcy Moffat (Pinedale) - I’ll be Growin’ Algae

Engineering Mechanics/Materials Science/Energy:

• 1^st place: Elyn Bowers (Pinedale) - Need a Brake?
• 2^nd place: Ashton Bennett (Big Piney) - Using the Seebeck Effect to Engineer a Heated Neck Warmer
• 3^rd place: AJ Cunningham, Jackie Meador (Big Piney) - Electric Boogaloo

Mathematics Jr. Division:

• 1^st place: AJ Hale (Star Valley) - Is Home Field Advantage a Real Thing

Mathematics Sr. Division:

• 1^st place: Brandon David Jones (Big Piney) - Mathematics Magnet Madness

Microbiology:

• 1^st place: Anna Lehr (Pinedale) - Not so Eggcellent
• 2^nd place: Reagan Davis and Brookylnn Maxam (Pinedale) - A Sticky Situation

Physics & Astronomy:

• 1^st place: Morgan Brown and Natalie Davis (Big Piney) - Measuring Velocity through Stroboscopic Photography

“It is always great to see all of the students who participate in the Southwest Regional Science Fair each year.  I appreciate the dedication of the teachers and parents who encourage these students to develop projects throughout the year.  When judging the projects, I can see the growth that has occurred in the students from the time they start as 6th graders and as they return from year to year. Both the projects and presentations are more polished and the students get experience in presenting and answering questions that will be invaluable to them as they go on in school and beyond.  I encourage all schools in the Western district to give their students this opportunity to participate,” stated Dr. Clifford Wittstruck, Dean of Academics at Western.

The regional science fair committee consists of the following dedicated Western educators and employees; Katrina Marcos, Randy Goff, Katey Ellis, Josh Holmes, and Cathy Ebert.  

TATA Chemicals funded the Southwest Regional Science Fair in its entirety. In addition to this donation, TATA issued a $500 check to Big Piney Middle school, where the overall winner was from, to be used for promoting the STEM program at their educational facility. This is the fourth year TATA has sponsored the Fair.

Additionally, donations were made by Young and Professional (YAP), Western Wyoming Beverages, Walmart, and BOCES.

For more information regarding the Science Fair at Western, please contact Cathy Ebert at cebert@westernwyoming.edu.