This year, students from Woodbridge High interested in STEM and a part of the new Honors Science Research class competed in the 41st Annual Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) Science Fair. 

In partnership with the Broadcom Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of education in STEM,  IUSD offered students from 6-12th grade an opportunity to explore and showcase their scientific interests. 

The IUSD science fair is the first level in a series of science competitions. After completing the district level science fair, chosen students could move on to enter the county level, state level, and the International Science Fair, Out of the 75 students that competed in grades 9-12 in the IUSD Science Fair, 30 participants moved on to compete in the county-level competition.    

Students completed projects in different scientific disciplines, ranging from biology to computer science, and were provided support by their mentor teachers. 

To prepare for the science fair, competitors had the opportunity to converse with professionals in the STEM field via  Ask-A-Scientist Night, which was hosted on Sept. 29, 2021. 

Participants were expected to present their project in the form of a Google site containing a video, digital presentation, and an abstract, which community members in STEM fields were able to evaluate. 

Though students were offered support from their mentor teachers, their project was expected to be completed outside of school hours. However, this freedom allowed students to explore topics and fields of science that were of interest to them. 

Students took the initiative to research and formulate scientific questions

After learning about the shortcomings of the radiofrequency system,  freshman Ishaan Chaturvedi had two different devices communicate with each other using visual light, an alternative to radiofrequency.

“While doing some research I read about this new alternative called visual light and I thought, ‘What if I could use this as a means of communication rather than radiofrequency?’” Chaturvedi said. 

Some participants’ scientific innovations not only explored theoretical problems; some students saw experimentation opportunities in their own experiences and hobbies. 

Sophomore Katherine Hua created an AI-powered assistive device for the visually impaired, after seeing her grandfather develop a visual impairment.   

“Because of…that personal experience and with like [a] family history of people having degenerating vision as they got older, I thought it was a reason for me to try working on a project that would help people like my grandfather” Hua said.  

Freshman Fiona Law’s experiment was inspired by a hobby she developed over quarantine.

“The main inspiration for this project was that after quarantine, I developed a hobby for going outside and taking pictures of flowers and I noticed that within flowers there is a Fibonacci sequence” Law said. 

Though the entirety of their project is self-directed, students had the opportunity to explore facets of science that are not taught in classrooms.

“The most interesting thing is seeing what students are interested in..and seeing the students apply themselves to things outside of the classroom” science teacher Crystal Cooper said. 

For those who wish to get involved in the next science fair, contact your science teacher for more information.