Parker Stambaugh, a seventh-grader, won first place with his experiment, “Still Breathing Easy.”

On February 24, 2007, two students walked away from the Oklahoma Mesonet/ARM Science Fair with a trophy in-hand. Parker Stambaugh, a seventh-grader at Emerson Junior High in Enid, and Giezi Flores, a sixth-grader from Monroe Elementary in Enid, were first-place winners in the upper and lower divisions, respectively. The competition was stiff as students from five schools in Enid and Oklahoma City brought top-notch science experiments to the table. The judging team spanned all education levels from undergraduates to professional meteorologists.

Stambaugh titled his experiment “Still Breathing Easy.” He tracked his peak flow meter results for his asthma with air pressure to see if there was a correlation.

“Great job! Remember, the null hypothesis and the alternate hypothesis should be mutually exclusive. In other words, if one is true, then the other one should be false. The null hypothesis is the one that assumes you will find no relationship. Again, I was impressed that you used science to help figure out something that you observe every day. That’s what science is all about,” one judge told Stambaugh.

Giezi Flores, a sixth-grader, earned first place with her experiment, “The Eyes Got It.”

Flores’ experiment was called “The Eyes Got It.” She investigated how wind speed might increase the chances that her baby sister’s eyes would water. The judges said, “Good job at looking into something interesting from your every day life. That’s what science is all about! Idea for next time: think about other variables that might impact your sister’s watery eyes. You did an excellent job of documenting your data collection. That helped your score a lot.”

Science fair judges play an important role in preparing the students for regional and state competitions as they make suggestions for additional research and encourage the students to improve their speaking skills, board layout and design, and unit usage.