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About 140 public school students participated in the 39th Terrebonne Parish Science and Engineering Fair – an event which sent two students to an international competition in Pittsburgh.
South Terrebonne Freshman, Adeline Martin, 15, and Terrebonne Junior, Samantha Theriot, 16, punched their tickets to the Steel City May 10-15 where they will meet students from about 70 countries. Adeline and Samantha will also compete in the state fair at LSU March 23-25.
“I’m thrilled. They called me and I was in the car, and I just started bawling when they told me [I qualified for internationals]. I was ecstatic to go again,” said Samantha, who also represented Terrebonne Parish at the international fair in two years ago when it was held in Phoenix.
Samantha won first place in the Animal Science category in the Senior Division (encompassing grades 9-12) and runner-up for the Senior Division Grand Prize. Her project, entitled “Oh, How You Affect My Heart! (Again)” tested the effects of spices that lower blood pressure on a type of water flea called a daphnia. She said she isn’t quite sure what she’d like to do in the future, but she plans on attending the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and is very much into psychology. Until then, she’ll keep getting inspired by science fairs.
“I’m really big into science. This is my thing. I love science fair. I think it’s an opportunity for kids to learn and to meet other people, and it’s interesting to go and look and see what can I do better or look at what they did,” Samantha said.
Her cohort joining her in Baton Rouge and Pittsburgh also enjoys science fairs as a way to soak up knowledge. Adeline, who was named Terrebonne Parish Middle/Junior High School Student of the Year and Louisiana Middle School Student of the Year for the 2013-14 school year, dreams of becoming an oncologist and believes that participating in science fairs will help her achieve her goals.
“The area I want to focus on in my life is really science and math related, so that’s another reason why I like doing mathematic science projects, because it’s all together,” said Adeline. “I get to learn, not only doing my project, but going see other people’s projects, and I learn a whole bunch of stuff. There are so many good projects everywhere, and it’s just a great experience to do the science fair. I love it.”
Adeline’s project, entitled “Chance?” delved into statistical trends and strategies in the complicated game of Monopoly. The project netted first place in the Mathematical Sciences division and, more importantly, the Senior Division Grand Prize championship.
In the Junior Division (encompassing grades 6-8), 11-year-old Mulberry sixth graderJacob Bruce took home the Grand Prize championship with his project, entitled “Running in Soccer.”
Jacob, a soccer player for the Blackhawks of the Houma-Terrebonne Soccer Association, tracked himself and his teammates during two games using a pedometer to find out which players ran the most and fewest during matches.
“It helps the coaches decide which players are right for each position,” Jacob said.
Jacob said he will continue doing science fair projects, and he looks forward to gaining a larger sample size of matches for his project in the future.
“Science is basically a lot of things in life. It helps find cures for medicine and helps find people healthier ways to exercise and all sorts of things that help people live a better life,” Jacob added.
Finishing first in the Medicine and Health Sciences category, Jacob will compete in the state competition in Baton Rouge along with all of the other division winners. Other division winners include Jacob LeBeouf of H.L. Bourgeois High, Hayden Robichaux of South Terrebonne High, Gabrielle Blanchard of Terrebonne High, Gabrielle White of South Terrebonne High, Alex Gregoire of Terrebonne High, Anna Gautreaux of Terrebonne High, Bailey Grezaffi of H.L. Bourgeois High, Kyle Morales of South Terrebonne High, Mariah Walker of South Terrebonne High, the team of Tiara Mickens and Mason Daigle of H.L. Bourgeois High, Zoe Armstrong of Coteau-Bayou Blue Elementary, Cade Kyzar of Mulberry Elementary, Madison Morgel of Lacache Middle, Allison Cao of Mulberry Elementary, Trey LeCompte of Montegut Middle, Cade Domangue of Mulberry Elementary, Madison Fick of Montegut Middle, Joshua Neil of Houma Jr. High, Heather Guillory of Montegut Middle and the team of Noah Broussard and Andy Hebert of Montegut Middle.
“I think [science fairs] are unique, and they’re rare. I don’t think we do enough of them,” said Terrebonne Parish School District STEM Coordinator and Science Fair Director Nathan Cotten. “I can’t think of any other event where a student has to defend their thought process orally in front of a judge on the spot. If a judge thinks of a question, they have to think on their feet… It’s a different comfort level.”
A sixth-grader at Mulberry Elementary, 11-year-old Jacob Bruce won the Junior Division Grand Prize with his project entitled “Running in Soccer” at the Terrebonne Parish Science and Engineering Fair last week.
