Creativity, ingenuity, and thought provoking curiosity are traits that were indisputably evident during this year’s Incline Elementary School Science fair Feb. 12. These students rose to the challenge and produced experiments or inventions that brought a palpable enthusiasm to those who participated in the fair and back to the field of science itself.
It is hard to believe that the science fair almost didn’t happen due to the concern that there might not be enough student interest. However, dedicated parent Larry Swick stepped in and with the help of the PTA, volunteers, and the business community this invaluable hands-on educational experience was not overlooked. This year the fair attracted many individual, whole class, and partnership entries that yielded experiments and inventions which proves that our kids love to think critically and find unique solutions for complex and everyday problems.
The fair was officiated by none other than our own local optometrist Dr. Johnathan Smith who moonlighted as the “Mad Scientist” complete with lab coat and ultra thick eye glass lenses to complete the look. The judges had their work cut out for them as they evaluated nearly 40 projects and then presented students with first, second, third and honorable mention awards. Out of all of the entries over half of the students will go to the Western Nevada Regional Science and Engineering Fair March 21 and 22 in Reno where they will be competing with schools from all over the state.
Because each student deserves recognition for their passion and dedication, presented here is a list of each student/ class their experiments and inventions. Those students advancing to the regionals are in bold type.
KINDERGARTEN: Jake Harrell — The Tooth Wiggler; Ethan Sewell — Paper Airplane Race.
FIRST GRADE: Carolyn Eppolito — Who Will Survive, Ms. Webber’s class-Bubbleology, Ian Smith — Do Different Brands of Popcorn leave Kearnals, Calvin Burau — Which Soda Makes Yeast Most Active?
SECOND GRADE: Ms. Ellis’ class — Bubbleology, Edward Parkhill — Johnny Appleseed; Rachel Homola — What Stone is Best For?; Alice Benton — How Crystals Grow on Various Surfaces; Olivia McCune — Counting Chocolate Chips; William Strotz — Strong Eggs.
THIRD GRADE: Mrs. Van Meder’s class — What Keeps Ice From Melting?; Jeremy Goldberg — Mini Microphone Tap Shoes; Patricia Todd — Do Mealworms Have a Favorite Color?; Laurel Taylor — Good Tasting Envelopes; Johnathan Lockard — Does Juice Clean Pennies?; Brandon Swick and Conor Nix — Roasty Toasty; Daniel Gollery — Crystal Change; Gideon Butler — How Crystals Grow.
FOURTH GRADE: Valerie Pober — Playing Fair; Emily Sewell — Melt or Burn/What Happens When You Burn; Blake Perry — What Metals Will Be Affected By Salt Water; Zoe Ott — Is Bounty the Real Quicker Picker Upper?
FIFTH GRADE: Megan Golden and Catherine Mitchell — Yeast Feast; Caroline Parkhill — Powerful Tea; Owen Price — Magnetic Snowboarding; Cole Anderson — The Best Waterproof Fabric; Dylan Comstock — Paper Towel; Zosine Profant — Synthetic vs Natural Fabrics; Tayba Cook — Gum Explosion; Matthew Hannah — Hot, Hot, Hot; Anna Hartman — What are Plants Thirsty For?; Tiffany Hosmer — Dawn Dish Soap vs Generic.
The continuation for the love of learning will stimulate, and motivate young minds through such real life educational experiences as the school science fair. Many thanks to all of those who made it happen. Congratulations to all of the students at Incline Elementary School for participating in the Science and Invention fair this year !!
To learn more about the Western Nevada Regional Science and Engineering fair please visit www.nevadasciencefair.net.

Naomi Freidus is a parent who writes columns for the Incline Elementary School PTA.