The 5th Annual WHJSEP Science Fair

Event Summary

On Saturday, March 7^th, the WHJESP held its 5th Annual Science Fair at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. With a theme of “Lift Off in 2020” saluting space science, some of the area’s best and brightest middle and high school students presented their research projects to a panel of judges.  As the program continues to grow each year, more and more young scientist are attracted to the only free science fair in the region.  This year 37 students presented 19 projects as an individual or team.  We are proud of the caliber of judges who donate their time for this event. 

Nearly a full house of spectators and fans assembled in the auditorium for the awards ceremony hosted by Claudine Ewing.  Catherine Konienzy from the Buffalo Museum of Science delighted the guest with demonstrations using liquid nitrogen. The audience was then whisked away with a Caribbean medley from the WHJESP Steel Drum Club.

A dynamic keynote presentation was given by space physicist, Dr. Alessandra Abe Pacini, who studies the space between the earth and the sun; she is also the founder and CEO of Girls InSpace, LLC.  The WHJESP wanted to highlight woman’s history month and brought in Pacini from Puerto Rico to share her expertise and inspiration to girls who aspire to enter scientific fields.  Pacini brought insight on how anyone could use their vocation, from cooks, nurses and artists, to benefit the space program.  Dr. Pacini graciously donated autographed copies of her books to the winners.

The 5^th Annual WHJESP Science Fair winners are as follows:

Middle School

1st Place: Isa Drayton and Xavier Kelly for “Growing Rock Candy Crystals” – UB STEP

2nd Place: Noshar be and Ezaly San Pal Suk for “Will a plant grow faster in a certain type of liquid?” – Waterfront #95

3rd Place: Tyleeia Lowther and Trinity Suttle for “Is there a relationship between sense of taste and body mass index?” – UB STEP

High School

1st Place: Noah Baldon, Ayana Thompson, Amari Elie, and Leka Rob for “Is the water in our schools safe? Testing for the water quality index” – UB STEP

2nd Place: Johannis Brown for “Solar Energy-An investigation of the output power of a solar panel as a function of the angle of incidence” – UB STEP

3rd Place: Nazia Sultana and Rihdika Aourph for “DNA Extraction with the Community” -Buffalo Museum of Science

First place winners received an all-expense paid STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) Excursion to Cleveland, OH to visit the Great Lakes Science Center, The Greater Cleveland Aquarium and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  The trip has been postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak and will be rescheduled for a later date this year.

It is by the generous support from our sponsoring organizations that we are able to host an event that provides STEAM experiences and valuable training for the kids in our community.