On March 27, 2025, I had the privilege of going to the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair (AzSEF). AzSEF brings together first-place winners from school, homeschool, district, county, and regional science fairs across Arizona to compete for thousands of dollars in prizes and scholarships. In fact, some of our students were able to receive awards for excellence, including the Thermo-Fisher Junior Science Innovator Award.
It was a great experience, and my peers and I had a great time. Here’s a little bit of what they had to say about the trip.
Editor’s Note: Responses have been edited for clarity.
The Horizon Sun: What was your favorite part of the science fair?
Marcelina Morcillas: The judging part, [it was] really fun to do with my friends. Nice to talk to the judges because they were really nice.
The Sun: Can you give us a brief explanation of your science fair project?
MM: [Gabby, McKenna, and I] took different types of wood and tried to find out the amount of smoke that each of them made to see which of them would hurt the environment the most.
The Sun: What did you do throughout the day of the science fair?
MM: We arrived, signed in, set up our trifold, checked out the projects, went to lunch, and then judging [started].
The Sun: What other projects did you see?
MM: [We] saw a project using drones that were designed to be environmentally friendly. I also saw a project about synthetic spider-silk and comparing the strength and durability to regular spider-silk.
The Sun: What did the judges say to your project?
MM: They really liked it. They liked the way we presented, and how confident we were, as well as the fact that we didn’t put too much information.
The Sun: What did it feel like when seeing if your project was chosen for an award?
MM: It felt awesome. Putting all that work in, and seeing it happened. I’ve always wanted to be a scientist, so seeing this happen, made me feel like a step closer to being one.
The Sun: Will you be competing in the science fair again next year?
MM: I hope so.
The Sun: What was your favorite part of the science fair?
Gabby Dupnik: Working with Marcilina and McKenna, and doing the experiment with them.
The Sun: What did you do throughout the day of the science fair?
GD: We went to Dutch Bros. When we arrived at the actual science fair, we got checked up and set up the posters. We left to take a quick lunch, and when we got back, judging began.
The Sun: What projects did you see?
GD: I saw this one about ballet point shoes, an environmentally friendly drone.
The Sun: What did it feel like when seeing if your project was chosen for a award?
GD: It felt really good. We put a lot of work into the project, so seeing it earn a reward felt like all that work really paid off. Also knowing that I could continue the journey with Marclina and McKenna was great.
The Sun: Are you competing in the science fair next year, and if so, what would your project be?
GD: I haven’t decided, but I’m thinking that maybe I will, and if I do, I’ll probably do a project with something medicine-related.
The Sun: What was your favorite part of the science fair?
Colton Steel: Driving there, because we got Dutch Bros. It felt like a special type of field trip.
The Sun: Can you give us a brief explanation of your science fair project?
CS: [Cade, DJ, and I] We compared a video game engine physics into real life physics.
The Sun: What did you do throughout the day of the science fair?
CS: Practiced a lot on my project, and looked at other people’s projects to understand what I was up against.
The Sun: What other projects did you see?
CS: I saw one about a Siri type thing, but it was like an AI that answered any of your questions. It also had a face that moved.
The Sun: What did the judges say to your project?
CS: They didn’t really say anything about the project. They just asked questions, but they didn’t really say anything about what they thought.
The Sun: Are you competing in the science fair next year, and if so, what would your project be?
CS: This is a hard question for me, because I don’t know what my schedule will be. However, I do know what project I’d do. I would continue the previous project. I would create a highly realistic video game, instead of comparing the base physics.
The Sun: What was your favorite part of the science fair?
Cade Steel: I would say going to the science fair with Mr. Holst, because everyone was excited and really happy.
The Sun: What did you do throughout the day of the science fair?
CS: We came to school with lots of excitement, then we started to head out and Mr. Holst got us Dutch Bros, which made the day more special, we got there, it was just so cool to get set up and see everyone’s projects. We started to practice, and saw people’s projects that could really help the world. Then, as the day went on, we went to lunch with Mr. Holst, which was really fun. When we got back, the judging started, and that was fun, because it was fun competing with others.
The Sun: Are you competing in the science fair next year, and if so, what would your project be?
CS: Really depends if I’ll be with my partners again, but if I could do it again, and I probably will, I would expand on the previous topic, and try to make the game, and test the physics ourselves.
The Sun: What was your favorite part of the science fair?
Rishabh Ramakrishnan: Meeting all the people, because you’re meeting people who know science, and are the best of the best in Arizona. Also the award ceremony.
The Sun: What other projects did you see?
RR: Some other ones in the math department were logistic mappings of population. I also saw one person who made her own generative AI program.
The Sun: What did the judges say to your project?
RR: Most of them said that I have a bright future, because of what I did. Some of them said that they didn’t understand my thought process through everything as well.
The Sun: What did it feel like when seeing if your project was chosen for an award?
RR: Since there were so few people, and since my presentation was really good, it really was no surprise. I was also really surprised when I was awarded the Thermo-Fisher Junior Science Innovator Award.
The Sun: Are you competing in the science fair next year, and if so, what would your project be?
RR: Yes, I am most likely competing next year, but it will depend on how my project for the Thermo-Fisher competition works out. But my project will either be a continuation of the same project, or a behavioral science.
The Horizon Sun congratulates the students that participated in the event and are excited for those who compete next year.
