‘Bread’ experiment tops GTC science fair

The creative study of an 11-year-old student topped yesterday’s second annual science competition at the Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School, making the entry the lead representative of the school to the islandwide contest of the Public School System.

Fifth-grader Angela Deleon Guerrero was surprised upon learning that she won, saying she never expected it.

She and her younger brother, Miguel Andrei, were first-timers in the competition.

“This is our first year here at GTC…and we’re happy to join the contest,” she told Saipan Tribune. The two were transferees from a private school on island.

Angela’s “Bread experiment” garnered the highest mark among 16 qualified entries yesterday.

She said it took her two weeks to prepare for the contest where she conducted an experiment to determine the kind of bread where mold grows the fastest.

“I found out that bread molds grow at varying speeds depending on condition and ingredients,” she explains, adding that she started the process by conducting research about molds and breads.

Her brother’s entry about the most effective remover of stains was named third best project while Jezreelyn Bulaklak’s study on disease prevention was adjudged second top entry.

Two entries were still being assessed yesterday to complete the final list of five official entries to the islandwide contest.

GTC acting principal Charlotte Camacho said over a hundred students from third through sixth grade joined the event where the top three best science projects in each class were selected to compete with other classes.

Out of the 16 qualifiers, only the top five will be named to the PSS’ contest where overall winners will compete in the Guam science competition.

“This is our second year…and I can say that it gets better. Students were excited and we have seen strong support from their parents, as what we always want to promote,” she said.

There were four categories in yesterday’s competition—life, physical, earth and space, and health nutrition and medical science.

Camacho said the mini-science fair is significant in the learning of students as it fosters critical thinking and motivates students to go further in what they have found in their research.

“It opens opportunities for their interests…something they may pursue in the future like biologists and scientists,” she said.

The acting principal admitted that students’ involvement in science events was among the areas cited by the accreditation commission to GTC.

This is why a “learning fair” for parents will be the school’s next major event in March.

Yesterday’s competition was judged by Reina Camacho from Division of Environmental Quality and archeologists Randy Harper and Marlene Swift.