The Science Fair process for the 2008/09 school year was completed recently as about 1300 students from around the state displayed their projects at the University of Illinois’ Assembly Hall. Of the 400 projects at the Region 11 Science Fair, about 150 projects advanced to the state level. St. Joseph School in Downers Grove fared well in this year's competition.

Regional results brought eight awards back to the Downers Grove school. Of those, four projects qualified students for the May 9th statewide competition. The state level brought the school three Gold and one Silver medal.

Receiving a perfect score regionally for his Botany project, "What is a Plant's Favorite Drink?", Connor Fahey received a $100 Best Project Award along with a Best in Category and a Gold Medal qualifying him for State-level competition. He was also awarded a Gold medal for his presentation at the state level.

Fahey compared plant growth using a variety of drinks including milk, cola, apple juice, orange juice and water. He was amazed at the number of projects at state as well as their quality at the competition. "All the science projects were amazing," he said, adding “it was a really good experience which has prepared me for my high school presentations.”

Sara Watson took Best in Category and a Gold Medal qualifying for State with her Zoology Project, "Goodbye Ants!" She also took Gold at State. She found that cinnamon was the best among the six seasonings she compared in repelling the pesty critters. This project wasn’t easy, though.

Watson credits the support of neighborhood friends who helped her collect the 360 ants needed from a backyard colony to fulfill her scientific testing process. Friends, Rachel (13) and Mitch (11) Wisniewski were instrumental in this process along with St. Joseph third graders Claire Kovarik and Quinlan McGrath. “It was fun. I helped corral the ants with my hands while she picked them up with a straw,” said Kovarik.

Homeschoolers Rachel and Mitch Wisniewski were opened up to the world of science fairs with Watson’s project. “In her eighth grade, Rachel hopes to do a science project like Sara. “I enjoy animals so I’d like to study something along those lines.” She and her brother were excited to be a part of Sara’s gold medals, even if in a small way. “We called Sara to see how she did that day. That’s really cool that she got a gold.”

Sarah Brzezinski has science in her blood. She is proud of her father’s successes in life as a chemical engineer, and her uncle’s knowledge in science is shown in his teaching at the University of Iowa. Despite feeling under the weather at regionals, Brzezinski took Gold, qualifying for the State competition with her Chemistry Project, "Which Candle Color Burns Fastest: Red, White, or Blue?". She followed that up with a Gold at state.

Feeling that the science project was a little intimidating to tackle, she was pleasantly surprised to find that with advice and support from her teachers she was able to complete the process. "I have a lot more confidence to do things like this now," she said, adding "with classmates scoring best in category and a perfect score I was just out to have fun and get the experience!" She can now suggest buying white candles for a slower burn-time.

Perseverence is what Daniel Donofrio learned with his state qualifying project. Taking Gold at regionals for his Botony project, "What Makes Your Garden Grow?", Donofrio learned that over-watering plants without drainage can kill plant life. So by starting over with a better drainage system, Donofrio successfully completed his project involving fertilizers, earning Gold at regionals and Silver at state. Being an Illini basketball fan, presenting at Illini's Assembly Hall was one of the highlights for Donofrio.

Regionals brought four additional Silver Awards to eighth grade students Rachael Barrett and Peggy Flavin for their project, "Natural vs. Synthetic: Which Fabric is More Susceptible to Grape Juice Stains?", Connor Dimmick and Jamie Kennedy for their "Heat + Magnets = ?", Joey Guiffre for his "Fruits or Vegetable: Which Produces More Electricity?", and Shannon Menard and Claire Jagielo for their "Butter vs. Lowfat Popcorn".