Pagosa students compete at state science fair

Special to The SUN

Over spring break, two Pagosa students headed to Fort Collins to compete in the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF). After coming in first in the Regional Science Fair in Durango, eighth graders Kayla Nasralla (with her project “Solar Desalination”) and Alex Foster (with his project “Whether the Weather Affects You or Not”) competed on the state level. While at state, Nasralla won the first place award given by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and received $100.

In addition to the state science fair, Pagosa Students did very well in the regional science fair, held in Durango on March 6.

In the eighth grade, Keanan Anderson won first place in the energy and transportation category with his project “Turbine of the Future.” He would have joined Foster and Nasralla at state, but was out of the country for spring break. Anderson also earned a special award from the Durango Discovery Museum.

Foster also won the very prestigious DaVinci award. This award is given to the top science experiment in each age division. This is the first year a Pagosa student has won the DaVinci award in the Junior Division.

Nasralla also won two special awards, one from the Society of Women Engineers and the other from Sparkfun.

Liam Doctor took second place in the earth and space sciences category with the project “What’s Shakin Bacon,” and Tate Hinger won third place in the chemistry category with his project “Oily Operation.”

In the seventh grade, Nate Lewis won second place in the energy and transportation category with the project “Furrenergy.” Sarah Ross also took second place in the behavioral and social sciences category with her project “Left vs. Right,” and Diana Scott took second place in the microbiology category with the project “What Meat Should I Eat?” Maddie Peart received honorable mention in the medicine and health category, and a special award from the Southwestern Colorado Area Health Education Center with her project “A Person’s A Person No Matter How…” Cade Cowan won Outstanding Environmental Project, and the Soil and Water Conservation Award for his project “Superplants.” Jonathan Robel received a special award from First Nations Energy and Mining Council for his project “More Miles For Every Gallon,” and Kelli VanBrunt won the logo art contest.

On behalf of the students, we would like to thank Thomas Caffrey and Tiffany Candelaria for making the science fair possible at Pagosa Springs Middle School.