Royal Science Fair winners announced

First place: Austin Huss and Matthew Aguilar - Salt Formations with Varying Tones.

by Sun Tribune Editor & Ted Escobar
| February 2, 2016 12:45 PM

ROYAL CITY — It took a while, but the annual Royal Middle School Eighth-Grade Science Fair winners have been determined.

The Science Fair is usually held the last Friday before Christmas vacation.

This year students awoke to snowy, icy roads, and vacation came a day early. It was finally held Jan. 8, the first Friday of January.

The Science Fair is an annual event that requires RMS eighth-graders to conduct scientific research utilizing the scientific method.

Science teacher Ben Orth helps lead the project but, inevitably, it is up to each student group to test their questions, gather data and present their findings.

Orth noted the scheduling upheaval, saying, “I’m always grateful to the community for supporting this event, especially the other teachers in our district who bring their classes to the fair to provide the eighth-graders an audience to share their discoveries.”

“This year, more than 80 percent of the parents of the eighth-graders attended,” Orth added. “So we’re thankful for their support toward their students’ learning experience as well.”

There were some unique experiments this year, and the top placers were as follows:

1. Austin Huss and Matthew Aguilar - Salt Formations with Varying Tones.
2. Antonio Barragan and Isidro Barajas – Tornado Simulator.
3. Tyler Piercy and Marcos Espino – Rocketry Experiment.
4. Alisha Dorsing and Surface Tension Experiment.
5. Josie Phillips and Stephanie Rodriguez – Bacteria Experiment with Common Pets.
6. Kate Guadarrama and Natalia Rodriguez – Crystal Formation Experiment.
7. Alex Vargas and Jessica Nunez – Cow vs. Human Bacteria Investigation.
8. Bailey Klefbeck and Ryan Small – Bullet Ballistics Experiment.
9. Kiara Salinas and Tori Quintero – Making Glass Invisible.
10. Kassandra Marmolejo and Wendy Valdez – Chewing Gum and Memory.
11. Lucy Christensen and Kaleigh Lafser – Memory Faceoff Investigation.
12. Amy Sandoval and Lucero Roman – Dissolving Experiment.
13. Yenifer Jimenez and Perla Sanchez – Flavor Experiment.