CNSI Graduate Fellows Judge Annual Science Fair

UC Santa Barbara science graduate students who serve as Fellows in CNSI's Let's Explore Applied Physical Science ("LEAPS") education program recently traveled to Santa Barbara Junior High School, where they served as judges in the annual science fair. They perused presentations of the 8th graders' projects, ranging from biological to environmental to mechanical. Projects included experiments with canine feeding behavior and preferences, levels of bounce in a tennis ball at varying temperatures, and contributing factors to erosion to the nearby beaches.

Serving as a junior high science fair judge is just one of the many roles performed by UCSB graduate students in the LEAPS program. They also serve as mentors, role models, and teachers in the junior high school laboratories. As mentors, LEAPS Fellows mentored the junior high school students through this science fair process, helping the students both inside and outside the classroom to develop and execute interesting and quality science projects.

"It was great to see the wide variety of interests the students were able to learn more about at the science fair," said UCSB marine science graduate student and LEAPS Fellow Lindsay Gary. "With a range of projects including wave motion, poison oak remedies, and pollution effect on local marine plants, the students can show each other all of the interesting topics that science can cover."

LEAPS Students Devon Billy took home Second Place in the Mechanical Division, which Geoff Hahn tied for Second Place in the Biology and Environmental Division. Ellen Wirth-Foster and Olivia Cusimano tied for Third Place in the Physical Science Division.