(Eureka)–The 38th Annual Humboldt County Doris Niles Science Fair was held March 15-19 virtually. Students in 4th through 12th grades from nearly 20 Humboldt County schools competed in the two-day event. Despite the fact that this year’s event was held virtually, nearly 100 science projects were entered by students.
Projects covered a variety of categories including: Life Science – Animals, Life Science – Botany; Earth/Space Science; Math/Engineering/Inventions; and Physical Science. Humboldt County Science Fair Coordinator, Kim Dedini said, “In a time where problem solving has shown itself to be such an important skill, it is great to see so many resilient, dedicated, young students actively engaging in science.” The Science Fair Awards Ceremony was also held virtually, and 50 medals and special awards were given to students from throughout the county. Judges also selected 11 Grand Prize projects from 6 local schools. The Grand Prize winners will represent Humboldt County at the California State Fair Competition to be held online in April:
- Alexandra Morris, 9th Grade, Arcata High School
- Anneli and Mathilde Macdonald, 11th Grade, Arcata High School
- Jackson Zagone, 9th Grade, Six River Charter High School
- Luke Prieditis, 6th Grade, Jacoby Creek School
- Zoe Cappuccio, 6th Grade, Jacoby Creek School
- Genevieve Caruso & Evelyn Seemann, 7th Grade, Jacoby Creek School
- Aiden Alvarez, 7th Grade, Jacoby Creek School
- Kai Macdonald, 7th Grade, Garfield School
- Jacob Mola, 7th Grade, Jacoby Creek School
- Cora Tallman, 8th Grade, Kneeland School
- Cairo Dedini, 8th Grade, Freshwater Charter Middle School
Dr. Chris Hartley, Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools hosted the virtual ceremony and said, “It’s a celebration of achievement, student participation, resilience and excellence. It took 45 judges to ‘virtually’ score all the backboards, and to interview all the students!”
The Humboldt County Office of Education would like to thank the major sponsors and co-sponsors who have supported this year’s program. Sponsors include Rotary Club of Eureka, Humboldt State University College of Natural Resources, North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District, Rotary Club of Mad River and Suddenlink Communications. A variety of other local businesses, organizations, and individuals also contributed to make this event possible. A large “thank you” is also being expressed to all the County Science Fair volunteer judges. The judges evaluated the projects, interviewed students, and assigned awards over the course of the County Science Fair.
The awards presentation may be viewed at https://hcoe.org/science-fair/ where you can also obtain additional information about the event’s history and background.