By Christian Lum

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Showcasing weeks of research and investigations, MHS students presented their projects at the school Science Fair on Jan. 25. The projects were displayed covering a multitude of topics within the realm of science, including plant, animal, chemistry, material, and computer science.

“Of course, I am proud. Although, I feel I could have tried a little harder to maximize the quality of our project. Despite this, I’m far prouder of those that are advancing and that I got an opportunity to compete alongside them,” said Junior Ryan Jansen.      

Those who did not advance continued to reflect on aspects they could improve on. “I felt I did pretty well because considering this is the first time that I went to the school science fair and I actually got to compete in the school science fair. I feel like my presentation could have been better. If I presented better to the judges I probably would have made it to district,” said Senior Bradley Valiente.

Through the weeks of preparing, participants struggled to balance their project alongside other aspects of their lives. “The biggest obstacle that my partner and I faced throughout the research and investigation portion of our project was our conflicting schedules. Other than this, things progressed seamlessly. We both enjoy doing different things outside of school and as a result, we had to account for the several weeks that it took to conduct our experiment.” said Jansen.

Despite not advancing to the district science fair, students gained helpful feedback from teachers and judges. “They gave us some great ideas on how to develop my project into one that directly addresses the serious problem of acid in our oceans that are destroying Hawaii’s coral reef. Given the opportunity to participate in the science fair next year, I will surely design a new experiment with regards to their advice,” said Jansen.

The project that placed first was Tabitha Hiyane, who completed a project on The Effect on an ampicillin-phage Fusion on Escherichia Coli Resistant. “There are a lot of bacteria and some of them are anti-microbial resistant. If you give them antibiotics it’s not going to kill the bacteria, so she wants to minimize the possibility of bacteria being resistant to antibiotics. She uses Phage, a virus that kills bacteria, along with antibiotics. When you dose bacteria with a lot of antibiotics along with the Phage, there is a less chance of the bacteria being resistant to antibiotics,” said Mrs. Sitachitta, whom is also incharge of the school science fair.

Those selected to move on have already begun to revise their projects and presentations in preperation for the District Science Fair held on April 10-12.