San Mateo County, CA — This year, 220 San Mateo County students in 5th-8th grade participated in the virtual 2022 San Mateo County Office of Education STEM Fair event. Winners reflected a wide range of student interests, grades, schools, and regions of the county. The following is a small sample of this year’s diverse, award-winning projects:
- Would You Drink That? Filtering Saltwater – Seri Sumetanon, 5th grade, Fox Elementary School, Belmont-Redwood Shores School District
- How Long Does It Take Computers to ‘Think’? – Avi Davidovits, 5th grade, Mariposa Elementary School, San Carlos School District
- Mathematically Modeling Planetary Orbits – Akira Nakamura, 6th grade, Burlingame Intermediate School, Burlingame School District
- Filtering Water for Cheap – Yuisho Kawane, 6th grade, Parkside Intermediate School, San Bruno Park School District
- Save Our Forest: Engineering a Cost-Effective, Environmentally Friendly Forest Fire Retardant – Violet MacAvoy, 7th grade, Crocker Middle School, Hillsborough City School District
- How Pure is Public Drinking Fountain Water? – Andrew Hide, 8th grade, Cunha Intermediate School, Cabrillo Unified School District
- Legibility in Typography – Korynna Lau, 8th grade, Lipman Middle School, Brisbane School District
The STEM Fair is an opportunity for students to design and carry out investigations and engineer their own prototypes, which build problem-solving skills within a real-world context. Students submitted projects in eight categories that are aligned with the California Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF), including Chemistry; Physics; Materials Science; Biological Systems; Behavioral Sciences; Earth, Space, and Environmental Sciences; Engineering; and Math and Software.
After submission, trained volunteer judges reviewed each project and selected more than 100 finalists to advance to the final interview phase before selecting first, second, and honorable mention awards. Of the winners, 20 will advance to the prestigious CSEF and 30 students will participate in the national Broadcom MASTERS STEM Fair. In addition, several students were given special awards from the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
“I am proud of all of our students who participated in this year’s STEM Fair,” shared San Mateo County Superintendent Nancy Magee. “It takes commitment, grit, and courage to develop and submit a project for judging. These young scientists show great promise as problem solvers and innovators. I am inspired by their passion and talent.”
The STEM Fair would not have been as successful without the dedication and efforts of San Mateo County’s incredible, champion teachers who supported students during their STEM Fair journeys. “I would like to give a special thank you to the teachers who supported their students’ passions and interests from idea to completed project and to all the judges who volunteered their time to support the youth of San Mateo County,” added Superintendent Magee. “You are all making a difference in the lives of our students and the future of our county.”
The STEM Fair was supported by funding from the Synopsys Outreach Foundation, which also provided materials and funding for students requesting it. Learn more about the San Mateo County STEM Fair.