Media Credit: Photo By R. Paschen Ashley Van Galen, 9th Grade, Soaking up the Photons [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Photo by R. Paschen Michael Steen, 11, A-Maze-N-Crickets [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Photo by R. Paschen Wayne Dell, 10th Grade, Effect of Insecticide [Click to enlarge]

Tumbleweed would be an appropriate addition to the vast emptiness of the University Commons. Dozens of cardboard projects seemed to stand as monuments to the events that occurred outside of the public's eye.

The 2006 West Panhandle Science and Engineering Fair was held in the Commons on Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The judging of the projects, however, happened the day before, and the winners were announced Thursday, Feb. 2.

The students who won first place in their category were Tanya Gallagher, Spenser Fernandez, Ashley Van Galen, Stephen Clarke, Diana Roycroft, William Doenlen, Jeremy Rasler, Coral Dues, Shawonda Buskey, Yen Chau, Hyeon Baek, Adria Beasley, Jessica Jones, Heather Cunliffe, Amber Contant, Elizabeth Tuck, Kayla King, Patrick Sullivan, Kristen Lassen, Kaitlyn Nall.

Some students were selected to represent the West Panhandle at the State Science and Engineering Fair that will be held in Orlando. Those students are Joseph Aquirre, Adria Beasley, Rafael Casalduc, Amber Contant, Kayla Hayes, Jessica Jones, Kayla King, Kristen Lassen, Kaitlyn Nall, Patrick Sullivan, Doyle Taft, Elizabeth Tuck, Hyeon Baek, Shawonda Buskey, Yen Chau, Stephen Clarke, Wayne Dell, William Doenlen, Tanya Gallagher, Tessa Hicks, Jeremy Rasler, Diana Roycroft, Altelisha Taylor, and Ashley Van Galen.

Manning the fort were volunteer students from the UWF Honors Society.

"I'm in the Honors program, and we have to have so many volunteer hours over a four year period," said Rebecca Nelson, 18, a UWF freshman majoring in management information systems.

"I'm just getting some since I didn't get any last semester," she said.

Half an hour before the exhibit was to close, a couple with two girls came in, and one of the girls had a project set up for the fair. The child's name was Katie Danks, age 11, a sixth grader at Warrington Middle School in Pensacola.

With Danks was her mother, Linda Danks, who felt that this year was comparatively better than the last.

"This was better, much more competition and a lot better as far as the quality of judges and what they expected from the kids," said Linda Danks.

Article Tools