Middle School Scientists Excel at OC Science Fair With Innovative Projects in Applied Mechanics, Chemistry and Cognitive Science

Six St. Margaret’s grade 8 students were honored at the Orange County Science Fair this week, with three taking home first-place prizes and qualifying for the California State Science Fair in April.

In total, Tartans received recognition in four different categories. Espen Garner had a particularly strong showing, taking home first-place honors in applied mechanics for his innovative idea, as well as three special recognitions—the Isenberg Memorial Award, the Office of Naval Research Award and the Beckman Chapman Design and Engineering Award.

Espen conceptualized and self-constructed a drone with a 3D-printed trap that can be used for mosquito collection to test for mosquito-borne illnesses in remote locations that vector control is currently limited in accessing. For winning the Beckman Chapman award, his project will be on display at Chapman University.

Another first-place winner from St. Margaret’s was Madye Arundale, who won in the cognitive science category. Madye took her national Scholastic Award-winning film animation “Fox and Bear” and used it to conduct a scientific experiment on memory. Specifically, she altered the frame rate of the animation and then tested subjects on their retention of specific details from the film, collecting data on how the frame rate of the film affected memory.

Sophia Hussman took home first-place honors in the chemistry category for her pursuit of the question: Will adding more acidity to a steak marinade help tenderize a boneless beef top sirloin cap steak? Sophia used a Warner-Bratzler shear force machine to measure the tenderness of steak prepared with marinades of different acidity levels.

Three Tartans also were honored with third-place recognition: Whitney Riley in the botany applications division, and Nick Ostlund and Jack Aitken in the applied mechanics division. Tyler Payne, Dylan Pruitt and Josh Kim also represented St. Margaret’s in the Orange County Science Fair.

“I am proud of the entire eighth grade in regards to their production on this year’s science projects,” Grade 8 science teacher Eric Harrington said. “I’m excited about the pioneering they did this year and how they utilized design thinking to design and implement these projects.”

Espen, Madye and Sophia will now move on to the California State Science Fair, which takes place at the California Science Center in Los Angeles beginning April 24. Their projects will be among 900 from across the state competing for awards totaling $60,000.