Xavier Gonzalez, 12, Rory Maceachern, 13, and Davis Borders, 12, stand with their STEM project presentations. Gonzalez took an M.I.T. study on flood prevention further, Maceachern studied color and whether it matters, and Borders researched what types of drinks harm teeth most. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys Weekly
Students from Treasure Village Montessori Charter School in Islamorada participated in their annual STEM Fair on Jan. 24. “These kids are amazing,” said Bobbi Burson, who helped organize the fair. ”They start from the moment they get to school figuring out how they want to change the world, and then they make their projects.” Burson brings in scientists from all over South Florida to help tighten up the projects during “Meet the Scientists” week. The mentorships benefitted students, who eagerly tackled global problems as large as plastic pollution, sea-level rise and warming oceans. A proud parent, looking on, noted, “There’s hope for the future. I see it in them.”
Jackson Garcia, 11, stands proudly with his project studying the effects of African tribal music on focus in an ADHD brain.Sydney Eysenbach, 12, created her own electric bike for her science fair project. “It has a motor, not an engine, so it doesn’t create CO2, which causes climate change,” explained Eysenbach. Eysenbach also shared her other motivation: “I wanted a way to get to school, and I didn’t want to have to ride with my sister early in the morning.”Sydney Eysenbach, 12, created her own electric bike for her science fair project. “It has a motor, not an engine, so it doesn’t create CO2, which causes climate change,” explained Eysenbach. Eysenbach also shared her other motivation: “I wanted a way to get to school, and I didn’t want to have to ride with my sister early in the morning.”Sydney Eysenbach, 12, created her own electric bike for her science fair project. “It has a motor, not an engine, so it doesn’t create CO2, which causes climate change,” explained Eysenbach. Eysenbach also shared her other motivation: “I wanted a way to get to school, and I didn’t want to have to ride with my sister early in the morning.”Iona Holmquist and Vicky Pena, both 13, experimented with a new way to find worms that digest plastic. Demi Dinon, 14, found that sargassum does increase the temperature of ocean water.Jaden Heilbron, 12, holds up the different materials he tested trying to find an alternative to plastic. Many of the STEM fair projects focused on solving issues the kids are passionate about. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys WeeklyAlessandra Ingold-Thompson, 12, decided to do her project on levitation after having a dream about levitating cars when she was 8. “I’ve been waiting four years to do this project,” she said. Next year, she wants to create a whole track with levitating cars. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys WeeklyAlessandra Ingold-Thompson, 12, decided to do her project on levitation after having a dream about levitating cars when she was 8. “I’ve been waiting four years to do this project,” she said. Next year, she wants to create a whole track with levitating cars. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys WeeklyAlessandra Ingold-Thompson, 12, decided to do her project on levitation after having a dream about levitating cars when she was 8. “I’ve been waiting four years to do this project,” she said. Next year, she wants to create a whole track with levitating cars. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys WeeklyAlessandra Ingold-Thompson, 12, decided to do her project on levitation after having a dream about levitating cars when she was 8. “I’ve been waiting four years to do this project,” she said. Next year, she wants to create a whole track with levitating cars. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys WeeklyAlessandra Ingold-Thompson, 12, decided to do her project on levitation after having a dream about levitating cars when she was 8. “I’ve been waiting four years to do this project,” she said. Next year, she wants to create a whole track with levitating cars. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys WeeklyPascal Weisberger, 12, and Tommy Cheung, 13, explain their projects to judges. As part of the STEM fair, students had to keep log books showing how they went through the scientific process. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys WeeklyDominick Sajdak and Rachel Rush, both 12, presented their projects in the environmental section of the STEM Fair. Sajdak found that fiber optic lights use less energy and Rush built on her last year’s project exploring the difference between runoff from organic and inorganic fertilizers used on plants. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys WeeklyXavier Gonzalez, 12, Rory Maceachern, 13, and Davis Borders, 12, stand with their STEM project presentations. Gonzalez took an M.I.T. study on flood prevention further, Maceachern studied color and whether it matters, and Borders researched what types of drinks harm teeth most. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys WeeklyXavier Gonzalez, 12, had heard of an M.I.T. study on flooding and wanted to see if it could work in the Keys. He used sandbags and onshore sand to research how to prevent flooding. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys WeeklyMaximus Waldo, 12, studied scary movies and the effect on different pulse rates. He put together clips of different scary movies and showed them to peers while measuring their heart rates. Surprisingly, some test subjects’ pulses went down. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys Weekly.Mikaela Sinnamon and Lexie Maloney, both 13, found that sargassum lowers dissolved oxygen levels in canals and on the ocean. This makes the environment worse for wildlife. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys WeeklyJudge Ari Poholek reviews the STEM Fair projects while the kids visit their peers’ posterboards. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys Weekly
