KALISPELL - Science students from across the Flathead took real-life observations and curiosities and turned them into experiments for the Flathead County Science Fair.
The fair is for students from thrid through twelfth grade from Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Bigfork and the surrounding areas.
The students explored a topic of their choice.
“Well, we were sharpening our pencils and we were wondering, how dirty is this? So, we decided to test it against a few of the surfaces in our school,” said Ingrid Aiken, who took part in the science fair.
Using their ideas and interests, the students performed experiments, analyzed the data and presented their findings.
Some of the experiments were profound and others focused on simple meaningful things like how much bacteria is on an object.
“Kind of like a real-world experiment too. Like telling people just wash your hands, keep things sanitary,” said science fair participant Mia Lengacher.
For many of the students, this wasn’t their first year, and they had the opportunity to expand on their projects from previous fairs.
“I love science. I'm obviously a nerd because I’m here. And last year I really found out a bunch of information about how water interacts with wildfires and so I was wondering how that's going to play in the to the nutrient portion this year,” said science fair participant Keanu Ng.
Students competed against other students in their own grades for ribbons and some cash prizes.
“It's always such a fun time being here and getting to talk with all these amazing experts and people. They really offer some awesome criticism of projects and ways it can grow in the future. It's really just a great environment for everyone to be in,” said Ng.
