The 69th annual Bartlesville District Science Fair was held February 20-25 in an all-new virtual format, due to COVID-19. More than 140 students participated in the educational event, with almost 60 Bartlesville High School students earning awards, including scholarships, cash prizes, and opportunities for further competition at the state and international level.
32 BHS students' projects were selected to advance to the Oklahoma State Science and Engineering Fair at Oklahoma State University in March, which will also be held virtually. Those students' names are in boldface in the results linked above, and italicized entries are alternate selections.
Three projects were selected for higher competition at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which will be held virtually in May. The team of Caleb Cochran, Bryce Goodin, and Colton McCullough will present "Conserving Water through the Recycling and Filtering of Greywater in a Domestic System", Emma King will present "Finding the optimal water fraction to maximize launch height of compressed air bottle rockets", and Liam Wisner will present "Downtime: The Consequences of Excessive Screen Use".
Over 100 science professionals and enthusiasts volunteered to make the 2021 Bartlesville District Science Fair happen. Each student had the opportunity to present his or her project virtually to category and/or special award judges.
BDSF Director Gabriella Farnham said, “We are grateful to our amazingly qualified and flexible board, judges, volunteers, and science teachers who help students to pursue their curiosity and explore real science while practicing organizational and presentation skills. STEM education strengthens our Bartlesville community. We were honored to have video comments by Senator Daniels and Representatives Strom and Stearman. Their encouragement shows the students that science education is valued at the highest levels of Oklahoma governance. We also thank the parents who we know were up late that last week!”