Local Student Received Honorable Mention at State Competition
On March 20, the Mendocino County Office of Education (MCOE) hosted the 35th annual Mendocino County Science Fair, moving the event online to comply with COVID safety guidelines. One hundred three students submitted 97 projects representing 16 local schools. Seventeen volunteer judges assessed the projects and voted to advance the top 10 to the California state science fair that was held on April 13. At the state competition, Willits Charter School sixth grader Aedan Lockwood-Chenelle garnered an Honorable Mention by placing fifth in the junior toxicology division for his project titled, “Weeding Out Round-Up.”
Shane Hildebrand, MCOE Director of Continuous Improvement thanked the team of dedicated educators, parents and community members who worked together to make the virtual contest a success. He said, “All of us here at the Mendocino County Office of Education were so inspired by the effort the students put into this year’s projects. This last year has been incredibly challenging for students, families, and educators, so it was especially gratifying to see students pursue their experiments with passion and curiosity.”
Mendocino County students in grades 3-12 submitted science fair projects as teams and as individuals. Projects ranged from biology, chemistry, geology & earth sciences, environmental science & ecology psychology, health sciences, engineering & technology, and physics. The winners are listed below.
Special Awards
Yee Kit Chan from Instilling Goodness / Developing Virtue Schools received the California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS) Award. This award recognizes students’ scientific study and encourages them to continue developing their scientific interests. Students eligible for this award must be in grades 7-11 and meet certain criteria by CAPS.
Aedan Lockwood-Chenelle from Willits Charter School and Kaci Maynard from River Oak Charter School received the Outstanding Young Scientist Award.
Connor Quigley from St. Mary of the Angels and Eddie Bower from Bower Homeschool received the UC ANR Hopland Research and Extension Center for Excellence in Environmental Science/Ecology.
Savanah Rorabaugh from River Oak Charter School and Adalyn France from Willits Elementary Charter School received the Paul Joens-Poulton Avantgarde Award. This award honors Joens-Poulton’s efforts in spearheading the county science fair and his promotion of scientific education for students within the county. This award recognizes a project that would be characterized as advanced, unorthodox and/or experimental.
Logan Devine from Willits Charter School received the Evelyn Smith Excellence in Science Award for his project, “Can Deleted Files be Recovered?” MCOE established this award as a memoriam to Evelyn Smith, a supporter of science education whose enthusiasm and efforts for the science fair benefited students, instructors, and the community.
California State Science Fair
Ten projects and three alternate projects advanced to the California State Science Fair. The Mendocino County Science Fair state judges selected the following students in grades 6-12 with Class A and Class B Projects to compete at the state level (in no particular order).
Click here to see the California State Science Fair - Qualified Projects.
State science fair results are available at csef.usc.edu.