2012 HEALDSBURG SCIENCE FAIR AWARD WINNERS
The 2012 Healdsburg Area Science Fair ended with the Awards Ceremony at the Villa Chanticleer Thursday, March 15.
Healdsburg High freshman Michael Beard and senior Sarah Beard received $300 for the John Max Award for Best of Show for their project To Run or To Ride. The brother and sister team conducted several tests to determine if it was better to run or to ride a bike as the grade of the road increased.
The Dean Darby Award for the runner-up went to Westside School fourth grader Sofia Fausone. Her project tried to answer the question ‘Is it better to walk or run in the rain?’ Her project How Wet Can You Get simulated this with sponge people, a variable speed people mover and artificial rain. When asked which was best, Sofia stated “Run as fast as you can”.
The awards for Best Environmental Project sponsored by Sonoma Technology went to Austin Beck Doss, Diego Jiminez and Arturo Carrillo..
The awards for Best Botany/Mycological Projects sponsored by the Sonoma County Mycological Association were presented to Mackenzie Froom, Daniella Ordaz, Aidan Perez, Jacqueline Sandoval, Cristal Perez, Joey Seghesio
80 local professionals judged over 350 projects this year. First place winners from each grade interviewed the next day for Best of Group and Best of Show. Best of Group awards were as follows. Grades K-2: Colbi Jacobs “Making Flowers Last Longer” and Emory Joy for “Freezing Water”. Grades 3-5: Anna Whitely for “Grooming Horses” and Sofia Fausone for “How Wet Can you Get”. Grades 6-8: Ethan Daniel for “Cell Phone Use” and Kiernan Price for “Sinkin’ Sodas”. Grades 9-12: Michael and Sarah Beard for “To Run or To Ride”.
The Rube Goldberg Machines competed Saturday, March 10 at Healdsburg Junior High. Over 150 students built and ran over 50 Rube Goldberg machines. The High School challenge this year was to Blow up a Balloon and Pop it in 20 or more steps. Healdsburg High School students Michael and Sarah Beard, Yareli Villagomez, and Tamami Lillis took first place with their entry “Junkyard Jokesters”.
The Junior High School challenge this year was to Plant a Seed in 10 or more steps. Healdsburg Junior High eighth graders Maja Trimble, Gillian Morris, Robyn Brooks were judged the best of the Junior High machines with their machine “Invasion of the Bears in Space”.
The Elementary School challenge was to Blow a Whistle in 5 or more steps. The winning team was comprised of Fitch Mountain fifth graders Gabe Casaro, Neil Graham. During the day a hands-on tech fair was held for grades K-5 in which students learned Energy.