All Middle School students at IPA complete a Science Fair Project each year. On January 13, the exhibits were on display, and judges talked with students about their research and findings. This year, 36 projects, representing the work of 44 students in Grades 6-8, were awarded special recognition.

The winning projects and students are listed below. These students will now further refine their projects in preparation for competition in the HAIS District Science Fair in February.

The Science Fair offers the opportunity for students to research an area of special interest. Using principles of the scientific method of inquiry, students pose theories about how and why certain things occur, and then test their hypothesis. Each project represents a good deal of time and effort, and the results are judged on the effort and breadth of research, the evident depth of understanding by the researchers, and the clarity and effectiveness of the presentation of results.

Judges for the projects included faculty, parents, alumni, and educators and experts from the wider community. They were impressed with the variety, creativity and dedication represented by this year’s projects. 

School-level project winners represent inquiry into such diverse subjects as aquaponics , physiology, solar flares, and the effects of acid rain.

“Can Cactus Live on Mars?” “What Makes Fireworks Work?” “How Does Laughing Help Your Health?” Visitors to the school science fair had a lot to learn, and found students eager to share what they had discovered.

The HAIS District Science Fair (February 7-9) is open to all private schools. Students who do well at the District level advance to the Hawai’i State Science and Engineering Fair at the Convention Center on March 28-30. Typically one third of IPA’s District projects advance to the State level.

The projects and students advancing to the District Science Fair include:

Animal Sciences, Display

1. Jake Arakawa, Sharks of Hawai’i

2. Nicholas Garcia & Jonah Bobilin, Under Antarctic Ice

3. Kalena Spotkaeff, Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin

 

Behavioral and Social Sciences, Research

Best of Category:

Caitlyn Suga & Gini Gustafson, Cookie Battle

 

Behavioral and Social Sciences, Display

1. Malina Cansibog, How Today’s Music Affects Teens

2. Mariko Baughn, Mimbres Archaeology: Let’s Dig It Up!

3. Fallon Villarreal, How Does Marketing Affect Children’s Product Choices?

 

Biochemistry, Display

1. Erika Ohki & Tara Norton, 21st Century Drug

2. Eva Lincke & Kasey Nunies, Chocolate

3. Emily Moss, Do Foods Affect Your Mood?

 

Chemistry, Research

Best of Category:

Kate Uesugi, The Effect of Glycerin on a Bubble’s Longevity

 

Chemistry, Display

Best of Category:

Ella Axelrod, What Makes Fireworks Work?

 

Energy & Transportation, Display

1. Andrew Labaczewski, How Wind Turbines Work

2. Andrew Merriman, Solar Panels and Photovoltaic Cells

 

Engineering Mechanical, Research

Best of Category:

John Black & Andrew Lincina, Aerodynamics on RC Cars

 

Engineering Electrical and Mechanical, Display

Best of Category:

Tullie St. John, Should Hawai’i Go Nuclear?

 

Environmental Management, Display

Best of Category:

Mark York, Saving the World, One Solar Panel at a Time

 

Environmental Science, Display

Best of Category:

Lauren Chumney, Acid Rain: Evil or Benign?

 

Medicine & Health Sciences, Research

1. Jenna Minami, Noni Juice

2. Jami Alamar, Skeletal Calcium Loss

 

Medicine & Health Sciences, Display

1. Kaulana Dilliner, Inflammation: The Culprit in Heart Disease

2. Sam Coyle, How Zero Gravity Affects the Human Body

3. Michael Brenner, Sleep: A State of Unconsciousness?

Honorable Mention:

Denae Jones & Keekee Broadwater, Illness to the Max

Anna Harder, Contamination of Fruits and Vegetables Through the Use of Pesticides

Taylor Kodani, Why are Processed Foods Not as Healthy as Fresh Foods?

 

Physics & Astronomy, Research

Best of Category:

Dylan Yamamoto, Ice Cube Melting

 

Physics & Astronomy, Display

1. Michael H. T. Lee, A New Day on Mars

2. Ezri Yuen, Solar Flares

3. Mana Kaulula’au, Planet Mars

Honorable Mention:

Giovanni de Lugo, Unlocking the Secrets of the Solar System

Rachael Harbourne, The Big Bang Theory

Kathleen Butler & Courtney Spencer-Tolentino, Pluto: Planet or Poser

 

Plant Science, Research

1. Gina Bacal, Hydrophonics vs. Aeroponics

2. Dustin Agbayani & Ian Schumaker, Farms of the Future

 

Plant Science, Display

1.Taylor Kolona, What is Aquaponics?