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2011 Santa Cruz County Science FairYoung Santa Cruz County Scientists Thrive at Fair
From a study of bird populations in the sandhills of the Santa Cruz Mountains to determining how many balloons it takes to lift a 7-year-old off the ground, the brightest young minds in Santa Cruz County came together to present their projects for the annual Santa Cruz County Science Fair this month. “These kids are doing things that I can’t evening imagine doing,” said Jennifer Adler, a judge from the Association of Women Geoscientists. “There’s so much talent.” The fair, which occurred March 12 at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, was followed by the awards ceremony March 21 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. Awards were given in 16 categories of science, from Behavioral Sciences to Zoology. Forty-eight Junior High and Senior High projects qualified for the California State Science Fair in May at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The overall “Best in Show” winners were announced near the end of the awards night in front of hundreds of students and their parents. Sophie Parsa of Westlake Elementary School won in the Elementary Division with her project “Salty or Fresh: How Do You Like Your Water?” in the Junior Division, Elizzabeth Hughes-Brown from Baymonte Christian School won with her project “A Monster Problem” in which she used a double-blind test to test her classmates in order to determine the effects of the Monster energy drink on heart rate. “For someone in junior high to do a blind test is mind-blowing,” said judge Miguel Aznar. “No research has been done on birds in the sandhills,” Rinkert said. “There are a lot of endangered and endemic species there.” The other, titled “Abundance Estimate of the Sacramento Chinook Salmon through the use of Genetic Data,” by Damon Kawamoto, used mathematical models to determine salmon population. “I’m really interested in mathematical modeling,” said Kawamoto of the reason she chose the project. Both Senior division winners will go on to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair at the Los Angeles Convention Center in May. Seagate Technology was the headline sponsor of the fair again this year and 12 students received external hard drives as prizes from the company. Seagate also provides funding for monetary awards for “Best In Show” and supports students competing in the International Science and Engineering Fair by underwriting their registration and travel costs. Plantronics, the Association of Women Geoscientists, IEEE, Broadcom MASTERS, Mu Alpha Theta, NOAA, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the CREEC Network, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and U.S. Navy also provided Special Awards. See a complete list of this years winners. Read the Santa Cruz Sentinel article about the 2011 Santa Cruz County Science Fair.
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In its 25th year, the Fair put on display the scientific creativity of about 450 Santa Cruz students from 50 schools in the county.
In the Senior Division, there was a tie between two projects. One, “The Birds of Santa Cruz Sandhills,” by Alexander Rinkert and Connor Chesus, studied bird populations over several months in the rare sandhills habitat.