Elementary Science Fair awards student innovation

Katherine Collins from Westridge Elementary School was named Grand Prize winner of the 2008 Elementary Division of the Prince William-Manassas Regional Science Fair on April 19. Eight other Prince William County Public School students, in addition to Collins, received first-place ribbons and 17 more won second or third place for their projects at the fair. The elementary division, which was held this year at Marsteller Middle School, is for students in grades five through six.

The following western Prince William students won awards:

In the animal sciences category, Alexander Meyer of Marsteller won second for The Effect of Color Paper on the Chewing Preferences of Gerbils; Patrick Dunegan of Linton Hall School won third for Throw Me a Bone; honorable mentions went to Abby Wescott of Bull Run for The Effect of Sports Drink on Daphnia’s Heart Rate, Kyleigh Hynes of Mountain View The Effect of the Time of Day on the Consumption of Bird Food by Birds and Molly Kessler of Glenkirk for The Amazing Guinea Pig.

In the behavioral sciences category, second place went to Grace Chadwick of Cedar Point for What is the Affect of Apparent Mass on a Person’s Selection? Third place was given to Jamie Smith of Linton Hall School for Bluetooth vs. Regular Cell Phones, Which is Safer? Cameron Lee of Alvey won honorable mention for Do Girls Pay Attention Better Than Boys?

In chemistry, Ian (Cole) Uhler from Buckland Mills took first for Does the Ratio of Sand to Portland Cement Affect Concrete Strength? Second place went to Chistopher Ringham of Cedar Point for Which Laundry Pre-treater Cleans the Best? Nicholas Angello from All Saints Catholic took third for Get to the Boiling Point; honorable mention awards went to John Walker of Bun Run for The Effect of Temperature on a Battery’s Voltage, Aarj Siddiqui of Gainesville Middle for The Effect of Liquids on the Mass of Eggs and

Connor Barron from St. Francis of Assisi for The Density of Liquids – Does it

Sink or Float?

In the computer science category, second place went to Skylar Edwards of Bull Run for The Effect of Newer Video Card Technology on Graphics Performance.

In Earth and space science, first place went to Sofia Revlik of Mountain View for The Effect of Different Temperatures on the Voltage, Current, and Power Generated by a Solar Cell; and honorable mention was awarded to Michael Waggoner of Glenkirk for The Great Dripstone Race.

In engineering and mathematics, Michael Chehreh from Bull Run took second for The Effect of Different Types of Insulation on the Heat Loss of Water; and third place went to Reed Mszar of Stonewall Middle for Fins in Flight.

In the environmental science category, first place went to Adam Woodside of Marsteller for What’s Burning? and honorable mention was given to Johathan Towne of Cedar Point for How Does the Angle of the Solar Panel to the Sun’s Rays Affect The Speed of the Solar-Powered Car?

In medicine and health, Lindsay Schloss of Stonewall Middle won second for Home Bathroom: Where Are the Most Bacteria? and third went to Natalie Morrow of Mountain View for The Effect of How Old You Are if You Can Hear the Mosquito Ring Tone. Samantha Scarola of Marsteller took honorable mention for The Effect of Music on Heart Rate.

In physics, third place was awarded to Septembre Koelling of Gainesville Middle for The Effect of the Amount of Batteries on the Rounds per Minute of a Simple Electronic Motor.

First place in the plant sciences category went to Kristin Passero of Marsteller for The Effect of Water on Wood; second place was given to Brooke Golden of Mountain View for The Effect of Sugary Drinks on Plant Growth; honorable mention was given to Elizabeth Rathburn from St. Francis of Assisi for Go, Go, Please Grow – Studying the

Effect of Microwave Radiation and Heat on the Germination/Radish Seed and to Rhiannon Sanders of Bull Run for The Effect of the Type of Fertilizer on How Many Days It Takes a Bean Plant To Sprout.