The WHHS Science Fair took place Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. It is a tradition that shows just how bright our students are, and even better, they come in the form of eighth-graders. 

The students had the opportunity to explore science and discover new things. Each  student had a different project, a different experience, new discoveries to share with the world, and they aren’t even in high school yet. 

The Science Fair was organized into a number of categories, one of which was Biomedical and Health Sciences. Competing in this category were aspiring doctors, Corine Adams and Abby Argenta, ‘24. The results of their project showed that simply washing your hands immediately after touching poison ivy can prevent severe reactions. 

While looking at poison ivy and its reaction might not be your cup of tea, there is more to science fair than just doing the experiment. “It definitely taught me about time management and teamwork and stuff like that,” Adams said. “I did have some fun  working with my friend, and just having a fun time doing the science experiment.” 

While some may have had fun with the experiments, others find the fun in different aspects. Maddie Edmondson, ‘24, enjoyed the presentation parts, “Well, I suppose, honestly, because I like putting stuff together, so the board part for me was my favorite.”

 Science Fair also enables students to gain more knowledge on society and themselves. “I think that I’ve learned a lot more about a scientific career path and whether that is something I’d want to pursue or not,and just how hard it is to teach,”  Audrye Boyne, ‘24, a student who studied different ways of learning and teaching, said. 

Alex Krol, ’24 said, “I feel like it helped me a lot with my presentation skills, and my knowledge of chemistry and problem solving.  I think, since presenting is really important, and I’ll probably be doing science presentations throughout my years in high school and in college.” 

Some moments go far beyond school and a grade. Jack Harding, ‘24, said, “I had a lot of fun. One of the best parts was out working with my dad because he does a lot of electrical experimenting and stuff, so it was nice learning from him and then building things with him.”

Other students even left advice for the ones who will continue this tradition next year and years later.

“Time management is really important, and then if you choose a topic that interests you, that’s really good because you want to make sure that you’re having fun kind of while you’re doing it” Logan Symson, ‘24, said. 

Krol advised students to, “start early. Start your data collection as early as possible because, for a lot of people, you start off science fair and it seems theoretical almost that you’re going to be doing it, but the deadlines start coming quickly.” 

With so much going on, things may not work out as intended. “Be patient. And if something doesn’t work the first time,try it again,” Harding said. 

These students work months on these projects and put a lot of time and effort into them. Once it was all together and completed, it gave a lot of relief to both the teachers and the students. This traditional showing of science, is proof that there is a lot more to learn about science, ourselves and the world around us.