Science Fairs Galore

As I prepare for my last year at Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science and Montgomery County Science Teachers’ Association science fair competition, I look back and feel proud for the work that I have done. Carrying out a science experiment, on top of all the work and other activities I have, sometimes can be a bit of a drag. But every year that I have done it, I have always been rewarded. I am not only sometimes rewarded with prizes, but I also grow from each experience. The thing I enjoy the most in independent science research is the actual independence. It is entirely on you to think, conduct, and present your science research project and this gives me a confidence boost every year. Mrs. Kesten does help you along the way, of course, but everything stems from you.

Josh's classroom preparation prior to competition.

This year I tested to see which type of mouthwash was the most effective at killing bacteria. I grew bacteria on seashells to mimic a tooth with plaque. I then compared the bacteria on the shells prior to mouthwash exposure to the amount after mouthwash exposure. During the competitions at PJAS, I nervously await the time to present my project to the judges. I am unable to comprehend the other research presentations going on, as I am too focused on my project to pay attention to others. When it is my turn to present, the nerves quickly go away because I find that, after all of the research and work I have put into my project, I know everything there is to know about it. My presentation to the judges instantly becomes more of a conversation with them.

GA students prepare their projects.

 After I finish answering their questions, I feel relieved and hope for the best. I later hear that got a second place category award and even though I will not be going to Penn State, I still was proud of myself. I got another chance at MCSTA competition and there I got a first place category award and will be going on Delaware Valley Science Fair. It just goes to show that your project might not go your way in one competition, but has the chance to go in your favor in another and that is what keeps science research exciting for me.

~Josh H. '15

Editor's note: As a senior, Josh has had many opportunities to participate in PJAS and MCSRC events. Continue reading to learn about one member of the Class of 2018's first time experience science fair competition on the high school level.


To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know about Independent Research (Science Fair) going into my freshman year of high school. It wasn’t until midway through October that I found out about the course, and I was hesitant about taking it. Naturally, starting a month behind everybody else was not appealing, especially when I had no project in mind. However, after some dinner table discussion with my urban planner/consultant dad, I felt a little more confident about my late start. My project, with my father serving as my mentor, would be to develop a webpage that displayed bridges on a map with an interactive SQL box that allowed for data interrogation. In other words, I would build a webpage that allowed people to look at bridges. Now as interesting as my project may seem, some parts of it were very tedious, even from the very beginning. Signing the form for a course addition took me the better part of a month, and the permission forms I handed in were often creased and folded from long days in the bottom of my backpack. When all this was done, I finally decided to get to work on my project and Winter Break came around. In those two festive weeks, I befriended Microsoft Excel, SigmaPlots, and the National Bridge Inventory Database. While most people came back from their break with tans and foreign memorabilia, I had proudly produced sheets upon sheets of graphs and tables. Shortly after, my webpage came to be with the help of HTML and JavaScript coding. That was the end of my project development, at least for the time being.


The first competition was PJAS, held at Souderton High School. I created a PowerPoint presentation and practiced in front of Ms. Kesten to prepare for my first high school science fair experience. As I walked into Souderton High School armed with my flash drive and a pair of new dress shoes, I gazed around at all the other kids wearing fancy suits and even nicer dress shoes.

Andrew gets help readying his project for competition.

Intimidation definitely found its way into my heart. That feeling was still present as I plugged my flash drive into the presenting keyboard. Being one of the last people to present in my group, I had seen some good projects come before me. However, the skills I learned in Ms. Rominger’s 8
^th grade Public Speaking class surfaced as I presented my work. I wasn’t the epitome of eloquence or a wizard with words, but it did the job. It turned out I would advance to Penn State in May for another competition, which was a nice feeling. The next hurdle was the Montgomery County competition at Ursinus College. I went this time on a Tuesday morning with a trifold board and research paper vigorously typed and edited the week before. My time there consisted of about three hours of sitting and answering the probing questions of multiple judges.

Middle School Science Department Head Mr. Wakeman with students at Ursinus.

It was a bit stressful having my work under the scrutiny of strangers, but I made it through the morning. However, this time I would not advance in my competition. Needless to say I was a bit upset, but it wasn’t a totally heartbreaking tragedy.

Science fair was a very eye-opening experience. It wasn’t the easiest of things, but it was something new and it really benefitted me as a student. Showing off months of your work in a few, short days can be difficult, but that’s what contributes to the fun.

~ Andrew L. ‘18