The West Potomac Science and Engineering Fair is a competition for students attending West Po. Students may be awarded regional competition participation in science fairs held at local public or private schools. This year’s science fair happened on February 4th. There were a total of 320 students registered and 185 projects at the fair.

West Po Sophomore Belky Alvarenga-Mendez participated in the fair this year, describing it as, “An exciting experience, with so much creativity on display. Most science fairs feel generic but this one was exciting.” 

This year, Science teacher Mr. Rogers oversaw the fair, when asked about the experience, he said, “I like seeing the creativity and the effort that students put into their projects.”  He continued, “It’s a good experience for students because instead of getting feedback from peers or teachers that you know. You’re getting feedback from outsiders, like other teachers or the judges. Being able to grow and learn from that feedback is a good skill to have.”

 Another student who participated, Aaron Moore, a senior at West Po, “We didn’t expect to win but it was a cool little side quest in my life.” He said being asked about his experience at the science fair.

Here is a list of the first place winners for this year in the fair’s many categories and their projects:

The Effect of Different Locations of Soil along Little Hunting Creek on the Magnitude of Splash Erosion: Miriam Keller

The Effect of Drink Type on Amount of Electrolytes: Fionn French

Effect of soil microplastics content on basil health: Brielle Kirk, Rhona Peterson

The effect of temperature of plastic bottle on the hardness of water: Anna Foote, Nairi Masih

The Effect of Water Temperature on Dissolved Oxygen Levels: Lucy Marshall, Olivia Hamilton 

The Effect of Drink Type on Amount of Electrolytes: Audrey Stolarz, Justin Woods, Molly Joachim

The Effect of Gluten-Free Bread Type and Moisture Content on Mold Growth: Jacob Ross, Joshua Fondriest

The Effect of Different Levels of Magnetic Field Strength on Velocity of a Magnetic Levitation Train Model: Tristan Schneider, Grace Niebuhr

How do Different Pulley Systems Effect Mechanical Advantages: Aaron Moore, Jordan Dakwa, Savion Gowder

The Effect of Microwaves on the Temperature of Different Types of Plastic: Colin Surovell, Samuel Glassman

How Unnecessary Wait Time at Stoplight Intersections Impacts Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Alexis Haymon

Stealth Technology: Ayesha Khan

The Effect of Flour Type on Macaron Quality: Kaitlin Cascio, Yordanose Moges

The Effect of The Amount of Agar Powder on The Durability of The Edible Plastic Bags: Amanda Nolan

The Effect of the Amount of Fluoride in Your Toothpaste on the Protection of Your Teeth: Areebah Junaid, Chloe Leonard

Testing Vitamin C Levels in Different Fruits: Joudia Benjelloun, Parisa Ahmad

The Effect of Temperature on Luminol’s Luminosity: Chloe Bratten, Wynne Smith

The Effect of Sole Material on the Coefficient of Friction for Footwear: Anna Weichlein, Nora Adkins

Extracting Onion DNA: Kylee Ledford, Tabitha Thomas

The Regional Science Fair is on Saturday, March 18th and is being held in James W Robinson Jr. Secondary School. Hope to see them there.