Twenty-six determined students piled into Bromfield’s bare cafeteria the night of March 14 and immediately filled the room with desire to become the winner of this year’s Science Fair. That honor went to Rachel Leicher for her project, “How Exercise Affects Blood Pressure.” After she received the award, Rachel said, “It just feels really nice to have won after all of the work I put in.”

Anders McCready presents his project to judge Mina Levitsky. (Photos by Rob Williams)

At the start of the fair, entrants, ranging from sixth to twelfth grade, assembled their displays around the room, and eight judges with different areas of expertise circulated the area assessing the various projects. Their assessments were based on the following criteria: the project in its entirety, the success and sophistication of the project, and the display—whether it was clear, complete, and concise.

The students explained what they had worked on the previous couple of months. Junior Blaire Andres, later announced as a second-place winner for her project, “Trusting Your Instincts,” stood in front of her display with confidence, ready to face the judges, as did many other prepared entrants. Partners Molly O’Rourke-Friel and Kate Shelton also showed their willingness and excitement to present their work, “The Effects of Salt Water on Our Local Environment.”

At the end of the fair, the awards ceremony in Cronin Auditorium revealed the winners. In addition to Leicher, a four-way tie for second-place winners honored sixth-grader Kara Kennedy for her project, “Bigger House Bigger Fish,” juniors Tracey Snyder and Kristin Park for their project, “Betulin: White Birches Personal Protector,” and Andres.

Elizabeth Smentana presents her project, “The Effects of Drag on Competitive Swimming,” to judge Mike Kilian.

The Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Committee honored senior Kaitlin Zupancic for her project, “The Effects of High-Intensity Ultrasound on Trapa Natans.” Others received honorable mention, including Alice Kennedy, Elizabeth Smetana, Sarah Steranka, Adele Talanian, Andrew Hong, and duo Rachel Jorgensen and Nikki Snyder.

This year’s Science Fair was a contrast to previous competitions because teachers were not involved because of work-to-rule. Parent Bob Talanian, with the strong help and effort of other members of the community, including his wife, Karla Talanian, Ellen Leicher, and Jin Hong, ensured the success of the fair. “With all of the volunteers, we as a team could start up a department at a very strong university. It’s really been something,” Talanian said while standing in front of the crowd in Cronin.

Compared with the approximately 100 students who participated in the Science Fair last year, the 26 who competed this year were highly praised for the steps they took to be part of it. Talanian said, “In past years [the entrants] have gotten [school] credit for their projects, and this year they did not. It was entirely their idea and they did it in addition to their large homework load.”

Bromfield Principal James O’Shea, who was present at the Science Fair as well as the following award ceremony, commented, “I was very impressed by the projects but I was more impressed by the initiative of the students.”

Another difference between this year’s fair and prior ones was the help of mentors or parent volunteers willing to be assigned to and assist one or more contestants. David Ives, a physician, mentored first-place winner Rachel Leicher. He said, “I liked it. It really wasn’t too time consuming. It’s just too bad that there wasn’t any teacher involvement.”

Adele Talanian, a seventh-grader who went home with an honorable mention for her project, “The Effects of Light and Salt on Seed Germination,” commented, “My dad was able to help me out a lot, but I do think that it would have been a lot more helpful with teacher involvement.”

When asked if he would run the Science Fair again, Bob Talanian answered, “Yes. I hope the science teachers do it because they do a better job. But if they can’t do it then [the team of volunteers] will.”