As Britton Middle School science teachers Trevor Agnitsch and Jim Levis read off the honorable mention, third, second and first place winners from the annual science fair Dec. 14, the eighth grade students displayed sheer exuberance when their names were called.
A Britton gymnasium filled with proud parents and vocally supportive classmates, along with site faculty and district officials, made for a jubilant atmosphere at the annual winter event that celebrates the sciences and student ingenuity.
“I’m always very excited about their hard work. It’s nice to see the results of the semester of working on their projects,” said Levis, who leaves the scientific discovery solely up to the students while outlining what’s expected of their work. “We really focused on writing better on the boards and I’m satisfied with the results of that.”
Reserved for eighth grade students, the science fair had 140 entrants in 2017. Each student, or group of students, was assigned to present their purpose, hypothesis, process and findings on a giant board, and then explain what they’ve discovered to a panel of judges.
“We had some incredibly strong projects,” Levis added.
The night ended with a first-place blue ribbon in Behavioral Sciences for JJ Verhoeven, whose experiment tested how certain diets affect brain power. Of the three diets (eat-anything-you-want, vegetarian and mind), the mind diet, which he researched online and includes leafy greens, berries and fish, produced the best results. Verhoeven finagled volunteer groups to first take a test, then go on a week-long diet and then take a similar test to compare the results.
“I measured their improvement after they changed their diets and it proved my hypothesis,” said Verhoeven as he energetically explained the steps he went through.
Partners Nikoo Shabab and Diya Kandhra’s project entitled, “A Duel Between Fuels,” warranted a blue ribbon from the judges in the Chemistry category. The two tested for the best renewable fuels that could possibly power an automobile.
“We were surprised, but we did work really hard on this,” said Shabab of earning the first-place mark.
Kandhra added their experiment into biofuel possibilities had a lofty objective of trying to “combat climate change.” She also looked forward to advancing to the citywide science fair in January to see what other students came up with for their projects.
With their experiment, titled “Trident Trouble,” partners Michael Froess and Alex Flores ventured to find out which flavor of gum had the longest lasting flavor between tropical fruit and spearmint.
“In our hypothesis, we thought tropical fruit would last longer,” said Flores, whose project earned a third-place ribbon.
However, that was not the case, according to Froess.
“Spearmint lasted longer due to the chemicals in mint,” said Froess explaining that it lasted over 22 minutes.
Classmates Shane Collison and Trent Cousens took on a challenge they titled, “Battle of the Bats: Wood vs. Aluminum,” for their science experiment.
“The purpose was to identify which bat hit the ball the farthest,” explained Cousens, who took home a second-place ribbon. “(Science) is one of my favorite subjects. We have the best teacher in school, Mr. Agnitsch.”
Collison, a travel baseball player with the San Jose Hype, noted their hypothesis proved correct since “aluminum did hit the ball farther, but when we averaged it out, it was only by three feet.”
Eighth grader Sophia Banuelos stood proudly in front of her display, which she titled “Toothy Troubles.”
“The purpose was to figure out which liquid stained teeth more,” said Banuelos, who dropped eggs in small containers of tea, coffee, soda and lemon juice. “My hypothesis was coffee, but soda actually stained the most….Lemon juice actually disintegrated the egg shell.”
Partners Laith Daras and Kenny Allen wanted to figure out if chewing gum actually helped with concentration for their science experiment. In doing so, they found out it did just that.
“Our hypothesis was gum will not help you,” said Daras, who enjoyed the scientific process. “It was fun.”
Principal Chris Moore was dazzled by the effort and creativity his eighth grade class put into their science projects, as well as the parental and community support.
“I’m impressed with this event every year,” said the third-year Britton principal. “It’s an amazing opportunity for families to come to see the great work that our students do. It’s a great night.”
Chemistry
1. Nikoo Shahab/ Diya Kandhrasch
2. Frank Lang / Pouya Moosavi
3. Alex Flores / Michael Froess
Honorable Mention. D’Angelo Munoz / Grayson Dietz
Physics
1. Gabriel Andrade / Alfred Nguyen
2. Trent Cousens / Shane Callison
3. Mason Santos / Anden Ajlouni
Hon. Ben Coler / Aiden Moreno
Behavioral
1. JJ Verhoeven
2. Kristabel Chaisson
3. Rylie Francis / Karolynn Gabrielsen
Hon. Lily Finegan / Phoenix Byers
Engineering
1. Aniya Dogra / Jessica Marquez
2. Chris Cano / Mateo Vela
3. Maya Tabares /Denise Velasco
Hon. Mason Heslington
Biology
1. Ashlee Atkins
2. Denise Pulido / Liz Aguilar
3. Natalie Austin
Hon. Gelasia Tiwana / Katerina Ruiz
Botany
1. Kailyn Allen
2. Katelyn Laisure / Sabrina Horna
3. Dustin Baldwin / Juan Rowda
Hon. Jenifer Morales
It’s an amazing opportunity for families to come to see the great work that our students do. It’s a great night.
