Science Fair: The Series (2023) s01e02 Episode Script

1
30 million students.
78 countries.
Eight million dollars in cash and prizes.
Top prize is 75,000 dollars,
second prize, 50,000 dollars.
Straight cash.
I wanna win something.
I don't wanna pay for college.
If someone thinks
that high school science fairs
are just about volcanoes
they've never been to a science fair.
With time ticking down to ISEF,
this episode follows six more students
from around the world
on their quest to be named Best in Fair.
And the winner
Aw, it's so pretty. Can I smell it?
Today, it's homecoming.
I'm really excited
to be spending time
with my friends from Science Fair,
because we're kind of going
as a collective group.
Three.
Oh, yeah.
Yes!
My friends are awesome.
All we do is cruise and we just,
like, bump music
while we're going down the streets.
They're crazy. I love them, though,
because they're like me. I'm crazy.
I'm weird. They're weird.
We're all weird together.
We all help each other.
We're all really close friends.
Nobody ever feels left out.
Even though it was intimidating at first,
they're all super welcoming and nice
and they have super cool projects.
We have a circle.
The Science Fair family is the circle.
We're gonna change the world together.
Oh, wait, we messed up, no?
No, you screwed up.
- Oh.
- Got it.
-Nice.
-Get it, kid.
I'm feeling a little nervous.
Everyone wore black today,
I don't know why.
And then I thought about how
it was gonna look like
I was going to a funeral.
And I was like,
"I am going to a funeral. My own funeral."
This is a huge day.
The regional science fair.
The culmination of months
and months of work.
Then you have one chance right here
to impress, to compete,
to basically present your work.
Oh, God, I'm scared.
The students at Monte Vista
are presenting their projects virtually.
They have a limited amount of time
to answer questions from the judges,
who will award two exceptional students
a direct ticket to ISEF.
Another select group will earn a trip
to the state fair,
where they'll have one final shot
at making it to ISEF.
First, I wanted to test different types
of plastic to see what the effect
of nutrients would be on the PETase, so
Chloe is a senior.
She has an engineer's mind
and she is interested
in the bacteria that eats plastic.
In order to test my research questions,
I planted three different kinds of plants.
Potatoes, squash and alfalfa
Carlos is our plant guy.
He has some family who farm.
So, he's really interested
in how to improve the crop yield
and whatever it is they're growing.
Last year was the first time
I'd done an environmental project,
and ever since then,
I've never gone back
because I love being outside
and I love, like, actually trying to help
in a big way, so it's definitely
Marissa,
she's been in the field all summer.
Knowing some of her background
and knowing some of the challenges
that she's had, going to ISEF can mean
a complete life change for her.
For any of our kids
from this small little place,
this rural place in Colorado,
ISEF is a way for them to get out
of that state of poverty,
and can be the ticket to a better life.
So, when kids don't make it
ugh, it's just crushing.
Thank you guys so much.
Whew!
That was that was rough.
I keep refreshing. Nothing is happening.
Refresh it again.
-I have been refreshing every ten seconds.
-Sorry, sorry, I'm freaking out.
Everybody
Calm.
- That's not helping.
- We're gonna be calm.
Why is it not up yet? It's literally 7:30.
Oh, it started! It started!
Oh, my God!
Welcome to the 2022 Suwannee Valley
Regional Science Fair Awards.
We've got the awards
and they're literally
They're burning my fingers up
'cause they're just so hot right now,
so
You're sitting there
waiting to hear, it's nerve-racking.
Who's going to ISEF? Who's going to state?
It's just tough. Because honestly,
all these kids worked so hard.
High school biomedical science
Hey, guys, Senior Biomed, this is Chloe.
First place with an award of 45 dollars
and a trip to compete
in the Colorado State Science Fair
is presented to Chloe Hindes,
Monte Vista High School.
- Good job!
- Thank you!
High school botany.
Okay. Shh! Everybody shh! Shh!
First place with an award of 45 dollars
goes to Carlos Ochoa-Marquez
from Monte Vista High School.
I'm literally gonna pass out.
I'm literally gonna pass out.
The next is the International
Science and Engineering Fair alternate.
The alternate will attend
if one of the winners cannot participate.
- This one goes to Chloe Hindes.
- Yes! Yes!
The last one.
The International Science and Engineering
Fair Award is a certificate
and a trip to compete
in Atlanta, Georgia.
I'm going back to my fetal position.
The winner is
Marissa Martinez
from Monte Vista High School.
I'm currently experiencing
a lot of emotions.
Like I'm I'm very happy, um,
but I also feel like I need to cry,
but it's not happening.
But I can actually feel it
kind of happening right now.
I'm, like, going to ISEF.
I don't even know how that happened.
Here's to you guys. You guys did the work.
This is for you.
Congrats, all of you guys.
Toast. Clink, clink, clink, clink,
clink, clink, clink, clink,
clink, clink, clink, clink
-My name is Savdiel Ducret Santana.
-My name is Endrick Garcia Torres.
And we're competing
in Science Fair together.
This is like my brother. He's my homie.
He's amazing to me.
He dances.
I was like, "What are you dancing for?"
Our teachers think we're handfuls.
I scream too much.
He'd been doing this for around six years,
but I started late in the game.
If you want to call it that,
I started in 11th grade with him.
Before I did Science Fair and all that,
it was essentially
just a lot of sports stuff.
But I love medicine.
I hope to be a doctor one day.
Everything is soldered to place
with the sensors,
the Velcro is working. Yeah.
Saturday. Saturday is the big day.
-The big day.
-The big day.
It's the Regional Science Fair.
It's, like, could earn the certificate
to go to the ISEF right there.
One of the inspirations for this project
was because my grandpa died.
He was in the hospital
and he suffered from his wound
that was not constantly monitored.
He ended up having the infection, sepsis,
and ended up dying because of it.
Our project is a wound treatment device
that can detect the levels of temperature,
humidity, and pressure on a wound area.
That'll help to see
if your wound is in a state
that can harbor an infection.
I was in the hospital
that he was when he passed away.
It was sad at the moment,
but I kind of discarded that feeling
and turned it in, like, motivation.
And I was like in my mind,
"we're not qutting this project."
With ISEF, you can see
this type of opportunity to, like,
share your ideas, not only with yourself,
but with the world.
-We're homies.
-We're homies.
If we win the spot to ISEF,
then we're going to Atlanta
and we are partying.
So is it about the science
or the partying?
-Both!
-Both! Why not?
We out.
Forget about things
that you used to know ♪
I'mma show you something
you ain't seen before ♪
Everybody talkin' like they
think they know ♪
But I'm the real deal
baby yeah, fo' sure ♪
Can't tell me nothin'
when I'm on the floor ♪
When I walk by they be
like there she goes ♪
Ooh I know they love
it when I lose control ♪
A stereotype of a science fair kid
is definitely not me.
Um. I'm not your typical nerd.
I like fashion, I like clothes,
curling my hair, wearing makeup.
I never saw myself wanting
to become a scientist.
I kind of just wanted to be like
a fashion star or like someone famous,
like maybe just marry a prince
or something, I don't know.
Act like you know
who's in the room ♪
Some people will see me,
and just think like,
"Oh, she just cares about material stuff."
But I am pretty smart.
The inspiration behind my project,
there's a lagoon in my backyard.
It's home to over 4,300 species
of plants and animals.
Mass amounts of algae
that are covering the surface
of the lagoon,
sunlight can't get through it,
so basically all
of our aquatic plants die.
Seeing how bad it's gotten
from when I was ten years old to now,
it's just, like, really upsetting.
So, this year,
I created three different methods
to reduce algae growth.
The first, with chemicals.
The second, with oyster mats
and the third, with live clams.
All three were incredibly successful
reducing algae concentrations.
The methods that I developed
wouldn't just work
in my lagoon in Florida,
they would work anywhere
that has a similar problem,
restoring a natural balance
and allowing underwater biomes
all around the world to thrive.
Three, two, one.
So, there's the damage done
from a ping pong ball.
- What do you know about ping pong balls?
- Aren't they hollow?
They're very hollow,
they're very light, right?
I'm a big kid at heart.
I'd rather grab their attention,
so they don't want to be on their phones.
Three, two, one.
Oh.
Oh, my gosh.
Taking a beating for my students.
Yeah, it's what we teachers do
for our kids, you know.
Some more than others.
How do you think the judges
are going to be at state?
They're they're tougher than at
than at regional fair, yeah.
The kids started the Science Fair process
at the beginning of the school year.
We have seven kids going on to state,
so I'm hoping that some of the projects
will get their own bid to ISEF.
All right, are you ready?
- I'm stressing.
- Okay.
- You got this, Erin.
- Okay.
The Indian River Lagoon
is 156 miles long.
It's the most biodiverse estuary
in North America. The lagoon
I probably dreamed of qualifying for ISEF
probably, like, starting in sixth grade.
Erin's project has a really good shot.
She knows her topic,
and she's been to state.
This might be her third or fourth time,
so she knows what to expect.
As it is my final year
in my year-three project
Last year I got second,
so I was almost at first place.
This year I am a senior,
so this is my last shot
to get a bid to ISEF.
Yeah, I can't. I'm struggling. Like, bad.
You want to start
from the beginning?
- Yeah. But I can't, like
- Let's start from the beginning.
I can't do this.
- Yes, you can.
- I have so much anxiety right now.
That's why we're doing this.
Just start from the very beginning.
I'm just gonna be
up all night doing this.
You got this!
Ugh.
Winning an ISEF spot
as an alternate is very bittersweet.
It's hard to rely on someone
to achieve something.
And so the goal is to beef up my project
and get more data before state.
As an ISEF alternate,
Chloe has two potential paths to ISEF.
She can qualify by winning one of
the state fair's top five prizes herself.
Or she can qualify if Marissa wins
another spot at the state fair.
Pollution is such a big problem today.
Animals are filled with trash,
microplastics leach into our skin.
My project's goal was to find
an alternative to recycling
and try to solve plastic pollution.
Japanese scientists found
a species of bacteria
that is able to chemically
break down plastic
using an enzyme called polyethylene
terephthalate hydrolase,
or PETase for short.
For my project, I wanted to find out
just how much of that the bacteria
was needed to eat
a given amount of plastic.
I found a trend that the bacteria
that were more starved
were able to eat the plastic better.
The research itself took
at least 1000 hours so far.
I put in the work, so I hope
I can win my own spot to ISEF.
Okay, this Saturday,
you all have to arrive at 2:15pm.
Is that clear?
Business attire, okay?
My name is Yajaira Torres-De Jesús.
I'm a teacher in Colegio Rosa Bell
in Guaynabo.
I don't know
what to expect
or what will happen on Saturday,
but I have really high hopes
and that at least some of you
will be in the competition
and you'll qualify to compete.
Not only representing the school,
but representing Puerto Rico at ISEF.
Okay?
Who is Yajaira?
Tell me about Yajaira.
Oh, my God. Who is that?
I don't
-Who is Yajaira? Do you know her?
-You go first.
Should I go first?
You know why he doesn't want to go first?
'Cause that's his mother.
She thinks that I'm still this little kid.
- So, I'm very protective of him.
- Too much.
I'm gonna be with you 100 years.
That's it. Oh, my God.
And you cannot marry.
You have to take care of me.
-No, just kidding.
-Nah!
My dad left us.
We didn't have money to pay the bills,
so she put taking care of us
like the first priority of hers.
Without her, I wouldn't be the person
that I am right now.
But don't tell her that.
I can do my 50%
but who does the next 50%?
You.
But at school,
she's not my mom.
Oh, no, she's not.
She's the teacher,
and I know her as the teacher,
and if I call her mom, she grabs me.
"You're not I'm not your mom.
I'm your teacher."
I remember my first project,
it didn't win anything.
But it opens opportunities
when you go to college,
like scholarships
and a bunch of other things.
I think that Endrick's interest in science
was 50% his own interest and 50% me.
And do away with any energy
that discourages you. Don't give up.
If I make it to ISEF,
it would mean the world for me and my mom
because I want to see
the fruit of her labor.
Dude, I bet we look so swag.
-What's that?
-What?
This year my project
is on Southwest Willow Flycatcher,
which is an endangered bird species.
We call 'em Swifl.
Swifl. Southwestern. Willow. Flycatcher.
Wait.
S-W-F-L.
Oh, my God. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so
Swfl, okay. In between the S and the W,
is Southwestern,
and in between the F and the L,
is Flycatcher.
Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. Yeah.
This property we have
called McIntyre Simpson.
The east side of the property is where
the Swfl are attracted to right now
and there's only one bird
that's on the west side.
So, I came up with this idea
to compare these two sides
of the property by collecting bug samples,
which is their food supply.
This is all important
because whatever I find with my data
can help save this endangered bird.
You went crazy on this one.
So, like, my family
doesn't do stuff like this.
It's, like, complicated, but my dad,
he was from Mexico
and he got deported when I was seven.
And then I haven't seen him since.
My mom had some rough issues,
drugs and alcohol and stuff.
So, my mom was in prison for three years.
I feel like I matured faster because of,
like, what I had to deal with.
It's definitely been the fuel to kind of
push me to keep going and not give up.
I wonder if Morgon
would let me present again.
I'd like to present.
Yeah. You'll do it here.
You're going to do it here though, too.
-Oh, well, yeah.
-Yeah. For sure.
Our regional fair is really good.
But the type of judging that you get
at the state fair, it's next level.
Right now, it is crunch time,
and they're starting to realize
they're really behind.
Is Chloe getting coffee?
This is my first in-person fair
since seventh grade,
and my seventh grade fair,
it was pretty terrible.
I got so much new data that my spiel
is new, so I am so nervous.
It's okay. Hey.
It'll be fine. You'll see.
Even though
I've already qualified for ISEF,
if I do make ISEF at state,
that would actually give Chloe
a spot to go.
It's kind of a lot of pressure on me.
I have a little bit of a headache
and I can feel
Like I can feel the tiredness hitting
in right now.
Hi, I'm Chloe Hindes.
And this is Reduce, Reuse and Digest.
Optimizing PETase function
within K12 E. coli.
Harvey kind of listens to us present
and gives us feedback.
We all call it "getting the demons out."
No K12 E. coli will be able to grow.
Thus
Uh, there will be no PETase function
because no K12 E. coli growth
equals no PETase function, um
I've had four cups of coffee today.
And I'm about to drink
another two probably.
On the west side, there historically
has been heavy occupancy for Swfl.
It was actually pretty okay
except for Carlos recording all my "ums."
Way less, um, occupancy
on the western side
compared to previous years.
It helps until I have too much
and then I'm like jittery.
There's something here, here, here
and there's a huge pit right here.
In order to test my research question,
I planted three different
kinds of potatoes.
I mean
God, I keep doing that.
I've practiced, I think, five times now.
What do you mean
I spelled "technical" wrong?
- How do you spell it?
- I counted your ums, you had 16.
Scared.
- Stressed.
- Nervous.
-The presentation is everything.
-Yeah. It's the most important thing.
I'm scared of not going to ISEF.
Uncertainty is scary.
Welcome to my kingdom.
That's potatoes. These two are potatoes,
and this big one over here is potatoes.
I love plants because they can't talk
behind your back.
This year, I'm trying to figure out
if a fungus called mycorrhiza
will affect potatoes in a positive
or in a negative way.
It'll create a symbiotic relationship,
where the plant will feed it
and it'll feed the plant.
My uncle grows potatoes,
he's a potato farmer here in the valley.
He loses a lot of money sometimes,
because it's so unpredictable here
in Colorado.
Mycorrhiza could really transform his farm
into something bigger and better.
It could not only transform
my family's practices,
but the entire world.
It could really slow world hunger.
No pressure.
- Come on.
- Why?
You have to at least say hi.
Hi.
I'm the first close relative
that's gone to high school.
My mom dropped out sixth grade,
and my dad dropped out eighth grade
to go to work.
My parents came here,
they immigrated from Mexico.
They wanted to give their children
a better life.
They're glad that they moved here
and gave us all these new opportunities
that they never had.
She says she feels really proud,
because seeing as they can't help me
very much, they
And how it's just, like,
me 90% of the time,
they are really proud of that.
I need to do well at state.
Not just for myself,
but for my family too.
Chloe Huertas. Ya, Manuel Agostín,
Iván Rodríguez.
Science Fair Regional!
Let's go! Whoo!
The watch, the patterned shirt from Zara.
-Flashy and smart.
-Flashy and smart.
-Well
-I can't really do this because
I just feel like I'm gonna break this.
You can't really move.
It's too tight for you.
The Puerto Rico delegation
sends only eight projects to ISEF.
We compete with 14 schools,
most of them are specialized
in science and math, and we are not.
This is not gonna be easy.
I don't really have
a "not to be nervous" strategy.
I just try to breathe.
We only have one shot to make it to ISEF.
Me and Savdiel put a lot of work
in this project. It's nerve-racking.
Good morning, finalists!
Welcome to the State Science Fair.
Good luck, everyone.
Hoping for no blisters today.
That's I mean,
you gotta look good, right?
The competition's tough.
These guys are the best of the best
around the state of Florida.
State is just a whole n'other world.
There's almost 800 projects.
They're only giving out eight bids today,
which is not a lot.
This is my last shot to get a bid to ISEF.
I'm, like, super, super nervous.
I'm I'm starting to freaking out.
- Don't be nervous.
- It's hitting me.
- You own this.
- I'm not nervous! I'm excited!
Students are welcome in at this time.
Finalists only. No parents or teachers.
Around 20 million hospitalizations occur
because of wound-related infections.
We wanted to create a device
that was affordable
so that they can monitor the wounds
and it doesn't get to the point
where sepsis occurs
and we have real complications
and problems.
You only get to present once
to every judge.
You don't have the opportunity to mess up.
When you get too low,
the K12 E. coli will just die off.
I was able to identify
forage availability,
vegetation distribution
and vegetation structure.
It was able to more easily attach itself
and become a full symbiotic relationship
with the potatoes.
I have some competition.
This other micro-project
sitting right next to me
Our projects weren't too similar, like,
he grew different plants than I did.
So, it could go either way.
So, my negative control was
the pure crustacean-derived ketasin
We are all stressing.
They're on, like, a time schedule today.
They're like, "You have five minutes, go."
So, it's hard,
because we never practiced like that.
My head is just racing.
I'm, like, I don't even know what to say.
Hey! Whoop, whoop! How did it go?
I'm not gonna lie, I blacked out
most of my actual interview.
The other kid, like,
explained everything beautifully.
This lady absolutely grilled me.
My mind's fried.
I don't know what's happening anymore.
I don't even know where I am.
If I make it to ISEF tomorrow,
someone will have to drag me out of there.
'Cause I'll just be like,
"What just happened?"
We're kind of in a waiting game.
And we won't hear about the results
until tomorrow night
at the awards ceremony.
We're extremely proud
of everyone.
We hope we'll have the greatest
success with the blessing of God
in that awards ceremony.
One! Two! Three!
- Cougars!
- Cougars!
ISEF is a great opportunity
to represent my country in a good way
and show people
that we're also very capable people
and we're very smart in our own right.
I'm nervous for them,
but a little edge is good, you know.
I'd love to take three kids to ISEF.
My last judge said I had too much data.
And too many trials.
How can you have too much data?
-I don't know.
-Is that a bad thing?
I don't know, apparently.
I've never gotten that before.
I don't know what's going to happen.
It's scary.
This is it. Pray for the best.
A round of applause for us!
Well, what I'm wearing later,
I think I'm going to wear
those glasses over there.
Just like that extra tip of swag.
Oh, yeah.
- Whoa!
- There we go.
Kind of long,
because I'm kinda just, like, short.
Okay, just have to Let me fix this.
I'm gonna put this
under my eyes,
so I don't look like I have
bags under my eyes from doing Science Fair
for the past 36 hours.
I have to put on perfume,
because you gotta smell good
when you do these things.
I kinda do like a three-thing. Mm, mm, mm.
I actually kinda ate some.
I'm coughing on it.
There's five people that can make it
to ISEF from here today.
Best case scenario, we all
-Go to ISEF.
-Go to ISEF.
We're ready.
I'm so nervous.
It's actually really stressful.
But I just, like, picked a dress
and I was like, "This one looks good."
I got these shoes to match, the jewelry,
it's all, like, drippy.
We just kinda finished getting ready.
I'm ready.
So, we're all feeling the nerves now
a little bit, or at least I am,
I don't know about everybody else.
I'm fine now,
but I know that as soon as we eat,
I'm gonna feel like I need to puke.
That reminds me,
I need to bring the TUMS.
The part that makes me
most nervous
Who will get the grand awards?
The grand awards are the ones
that go to ISEF,
representing Puerto Rico, so
that's the part
that makes me most nervous.
Kinda excited because I wanna see,
like, who wins.
Oh, yeah. Most definitely.
We're here?
Yes.
Showtime?
Showtime.
Welcome, everyone.
- This is scary.
- It's okay.
The Colorado Science and Engineering Fair
has 12 categories of competition
in which students can participate.
For each category, I will call finalists
to the stage in alphabetical order.
Once all of the finalists have reached
the wings over here, I will announce
We're here to motivate him
to continue with his project
and keep moving upwards.
All right, here we go.
Microbiology and molecular biology.
Will the following students
come to the stage?
Margaret Arthur, Arman Gill,
Chloe Hindes, Claire Krasinski,
and Emma Seliskar.
Go, Chloe!
I believe in you, Chloe!
The award of Honorable Mention goes
to Arman Gill from Lamar High School.
The award of Honorable Mention goes to
Emma Seliskar from Evergreen High School
and Evergreen for the project "Bee Yeast."
You placed!
The award of third place
goes to Chloe Hindes
from Monte Vista High School
in Monte Vista
for the project "Reduce, Reuse, Digest.
Optimizing PETase function
with K12 E. coli."
The award for second place
goes to Claire Krasinski from
- Congratulations!
- Thanks.
Hey, it's okay, it's okay.
Listen. I went as alternate, okay?
There's still a chance.
Think of like,
Cole falling or something, okay?
Think of something funny.
- Yeah, I'm just
- You got it. Ready? One more time.
-cause it's my last project.
-I know. It'll be okay.
Take the picture, it'll be okay.
No tears yet. No tears yet.
You're okay. Get back.
I need you three at the back.
Yup. Center. Yup, perfect.
It is the moment we've been waiting for.
It's time for the best of CSEF Junior
and Senior division awards.
I wanna win,
that would actually give
Chloe a spot to go,
and I know that she really wants to
and she really deserves it.
So, I'm a little nervous.
These students' projects
have been outstanding
in the areas of science,
technology, engineering
and mathematics.
High School Grand Awards,
these winners will represent Puerto Rico
as finalists at the International Science
and Engineering Fair
taking place in Atlanta, Georgia.
When they start
mentioning, like, the Grand Awards,
which are ISEF,
I was kinda nervous.
From the School of San Juan,
Maria Morales-Quezada.
I believe in what we did,
and the meaning behind our project.
But there's no guarantee.
From the School of Math,
Science & Technology of San Juan,
Diego Corales Casillas,
and Joy Velazquez Colon.
We didn't get
third place, we didn't get second place.
Me and Savdiel
were looking at each other like,
"Okay, what we gonna do now!"
We might win,
but what if we're not called?
It's all or nothing now.
And the high school
from Colegio Rosa-Bell,
Endrick Garcia Torres
and Savdiel Ducret Santana.
It brings to me,
like, that feeling of honor
that I'm going to be able
to share my ideas to other people
from other countries, other nations
that don't even know
that this island even exists.
And just to show them that there's, like,
actual potential in us. It's a huge honor.
Una, dos, tres.
I feel really ecstatic.
Can't wait for ISEF.
Atlanta ain't ready for your boy.
- Atlanta ain't ready for Puerto Ricans!
- Ain't ready for Puerto Rico!
We feel really happy,
real proud that we won the grand prize.
Senior Division Plant Sciences.
Dude, I'm going to puke.
Carlos Ochoa-Marquéz and Denton Peil,
please come to the stage.
The award for second place
goes to Carlos Ochoa-Marquéz from
Monte Vista High School in Monte Vista
for the project "Myco madness,
the effects of Mycorrhiza
on Solanum tuberosum,
Cucurbita pepo, and Medicago sativa."
That is awesome.
Take two shots. All right.
We don't have a lot of schooling.
We come from a little town in Mexico.
And we only studied up to 6th grade.
It feels really nice that
he's doing really well in school
in spite of the fact that
we can't help him much.
He's gotten very far.
Can I have your money?
No?
I got second place in my category,
close to 900 dollars, I think.
Carlos, you did okay.
You could've done way better.
Okay, rude.
That's almost as much money
as I earned working at Walmart
for like six months. So, you know.
Very happy!
The other kid beat me,
but it's okay.
-Ah!
-He's crying.
No! I'm not.
He's not crying.
He's a tough man, he's not crying.
Somebody say something funny.
Uh, kisses on the forehead!
-That's not not at all funny.
-25! 25!
Angela Wang, Tom Commander.
It's really hard to, like,
place well at state.
Siddarth Chidda.
Oh, well.
-You got first place.
-Uh-uh, it's actually, no.
I've been to states four times.
Last year I got second,
and I thought I had a chance.
Ryan Napoleon. Ishika Mag.
Alexander Sulvic.
Erin Gaydar.
-Oh! I got something.
-First place.
- That's crazy!
- I think it's first place.
I think I actually got something,
that's kind of cool.
Now, for our first place
in Senior Division.
In plant sciences, we have Erin Gaydar
from Brevard Intracoastal.
Yeah, Erin! Yeah!
I was in shock.
I was falling short like every time.
I can't believe I did this, like,
I can't believe I made it.
Erin places first in her category.
But out of the 13 category winners,
only eight will go to ISEF.
There's some really good projects.
There's no way I'm top eight
in this entire fair, like there's no way.
Now, this year's grand award,
Best in Fair,
we have
in the Plant Sciences category,
Brevard Intracoastal Erin Gaydar.
Let's go, Erin!
Yeah!
Oh, my God. I'm going to cry.
I'm going to cry.
Oh, my God!
I'm going to ISEF!
-Congratulations! Yes, you are!
-Oh, my baby girl!
Congratulations.
After ten years of Science Fair,
I get a bid to ISEF.
That's crazy.
Walking to that hall at ISEF,
it's gonna be crazy.
I'm like what the
All right, friends,
it is the moment we've been waiting for.
It's time for the best of CSEF Junior
and Senior Division Awards.
All first place division category winners
are eligible for the best
of CSEF project awards.
The top five projects receive
an expense-paid trip to compete
in the Regeneron International Science
and Engineering Fair.
Fifth place goes to
Henry Westfall from Fairview High School
in Boulder.
It's hard to rely on someone
to achieve something.
Fourth place, Natalie Pujet
from Fairview High School in Boulder.
Winning an ISEF spot
as an alternate
would be kind of bittersweet.
Third place, best of CSEF Senior Division,
goes to
Marissa Martinez
from Monte Vista High School, Monte Vista.
Chloe! You're going to ISEF!
Not bad!
Marissa's project is titled
Are you sure you're happy?
Oh, yeah, I'm really happy
because now Chloe gets to come.
Thank you.
I've spent so much time and energy
on this project to try to make it myself.
And it feels like I'm going
off of Marissa's work.
Ooh. Ow.
So, it was our last
high school game at our home court.
I went up for a rebound,
and I landed with my legs straight
and my knee just it went back.
So, I have ACL surgery, meniscus, and MCL.
So, I can't go to ISEF.
The point of ISEF was like,
me going with you, going to Atlanta.
Just having this sudden news
and it's kind of troubling.
I just want him to go, but he can't.
I don't want to do this project alone.
Yes, you wearing this.
It looks professional.
- Here.
- Thank you.
Please put it in.
- I brought you a
- Ow!
I've been trapped in this Jericho bubble.
I'm so intrigued to see
what other schools are like.
It's currently 4:03 in the morning
and we're about to leave on our journey
to the Denver Airport,
which I've never been to.
A lot of our kids fall below
a particular poverty line.
These kids have never been outside
of the state.
Are we there yet?
This will be my first time
on a plane. I'm kinda nervous about it.
For them to go and meet kids
from other countries,
who are just as geeky and excited
as they are, that is so powerful.
Oh, my God.
I'm treadmilling. Run!
- The airport smells funny, um
- But I really like it. It's cool.
We are super hyped
and ready to go to Atlanta!
My family and friends came.
They're like cheering for, like,
me and my friends.
That was, like, awesome.
Bye, guys. I love you.
- Bye!
- Bye!
Have I been on a train before?
- Yes!
- But not like a train-train.
Quickly. Get in, get in, get in.
Going to Atlanta without Savdiel
is pretty sad.
But ISEF given me the opportunity to,
like, compete.
They see that my project has potential,
so I didn't want to miss it.
Please give your mother a big hug,
and then you're going to follow me.
Bye bye, you guys.
Bye!
Why are you crying?
You wanted my room!
Bye-bye.
She's so happy but I'm not happy.
I'm so worried about her.
No! I don't want her to go!
Here we go.
Welcome everyone to the 2022
International Science
and Engineering Fair.
Let's do this!