School District Five announces winners of the 2025 District Science and Engineering Fair

For Immediate Release – March 6, 2025

School District Five announces winners of the 2025 District Science and Engineering Fair

IRMO –Lexington-Richland School District Five has announced its science fair winners. The event was held at Dutch Fork High School.

The District Science and Engineering Fair took place on Saturday, February 8 at Dutch Fork High School. The District Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, and High School Science and Engineering Fair had 174 projects representing the fields of Earth and Environmental Science, Math and Engineering, Life Science, Physical Science, and Human, Behavioral, and Social Science. The district had 332 students in grades 5-12 representing 19 schools along with The Center for Advanced Technical Studies and FIVE. Participation increased from last year's Fair by 178 students.

"I am so proud of this year's District Science and Engineering Fair winners and award recipients as we had an incredible amount of talent displayed at our single-day Science Fair event,” School District Five Coordinator of Science and Health Nickie Powell said. “I was thoroughly impressed by all of the students' ideas and the level of creativity and abundance of knowledge they utilized to solve problems and provide solutions. This year's event was truly inspiring. I wish all those competing in the Regional Science Fair at USC on March 7th and 10th the best of luck!"

2025 Elementary (5th Grade) Science Fair Award Recipients

Math/Engineering 

1st Place: Evan Yancey-Jones (Harbison West Elementary)- Wind Turbines: They will change the world

Earth/Environmental Science

1st Place: Macallister Alspach, Aubreigh Buckingham, Caroline Pressley (Chapin Intermediate)- What Absorbs More? Sand, Soil or Sand and Rock Mix

Life Science 

1st Place: Lillian Chen (Harbison West Elementary)- Time to Shine: Investigating Effective Tooth-Brushing Practices

2nd Place: Montrell Felder, Maddy Harley, Sela Smith-Galloway (Dutch Fork Elementary)- Home Made vs. Store Bought: The Battle for the Best Hand Sanitizer

Physical Science:

1st Place: Alaina Dickerson (H. E. Corley Elementary)- The Great Sugar Dissolving Project

2nd Place: Zeus Chung, Lewis Hardison, Cyrus Ranieri, McKinley Novak – (Chapin Intermediate)- Gravity Experiment

3rd Place: Molly Goodwin, Abigayle McNutt (Leaphart Elementary)- What Cleaning Solution Cleans Best?

Honorable Mention: Aubrey Spohn (Dutch Fork Elementary)-Super Slime

2025 Intermediate/Middle School Science Fair Award Recipients

Math/Engineering

1st Place: Milly Berry, Alexis Greene, Mary Mac Hood, Aniston Hooks (Chapin Middle)- The Slowest Fall

2nd Place: Macy Hewitt, Carter Madrid, Jude Williams (Chapin Middle)- Eiffel Tower of Bean

3rd Place: Aubrey Drake, Madeline McGrady, Madelyn Pinner (Chapin Middle)- Wild Water Rollercoaster Ride

Earth/Environmental Science & Life Science

1st Place: SaiRuthvika Garapati, Scarlett Gore (Irmo Middle)- Milkweed Madness

2nd Place: Abigail Bickley, Sadie Blocker, Madelyn Peurifoy, Lacey Takach (Chapin Middle)- SunSation

Honorable Mention: Cecelia Newberry, Troy Rabon (Irmo Middle)- Give Green a Chance

 

Physical Science

1st Place: Rahaf Alzuabidi, Carenza Smith (Dutch Fork Middle)- Milk Mash

2nd Place: Jackson Besley (FIVE)- Poppin’ Corn

3rd Place: Mckenna Dwyer, Ava Leach (Chapin Middle)- Cool Reactions

Honorable Mention: Cooper Hodges, Cole Hooks (Chapin Middle)- Crazy Corn Starch

Honorable Mention: Birkes Bryan, Mason Lorick, Dean Saunders, Gabriel Wood (Chapin Intermediate)- Colored Paper Temperature Experiment

Honorable Mention: Haley Abercrombie, Layla Dodson, Ethan Keisler, Aidan Roney (Chapin Intermediate)- Frosty Frigid Water

 

2025 High School Science & Engineering Fair Award Recipients

 

Math/Engineering

1st Place: Annabell Ashton, A’Najzah Mayers, Madeline Touchberry (The Center & Chapin High) - NaviCane

2nd Place: Hunter Majka (The Center & Chapin High) - ADAPT - Autonomous Descent Adjustments for Parachute Technology

3rd Place: Killian Evans, Diego Sanches (The Center & Spring Hill High) - Clean Coop Technologies

Honorable Mention: Andrew Brannon (The Center & Spring Hill High), Noah Perkins (The Center & Dutch Fork High) - Cycle Guard

Honorable Mention: Joah Schaefer (The Center & Chapin High) - Rocket altitude control utilizing adjustable drag fins

 

Earth/Environmental Science

1st Place: Hunter Taylor (Dutch Fork High) - The implementation of ostracods as a form of algae control in aquaculture greenwater systems

2nd Place: Greyson Ashley (Spring Hill High) - Biochar Yield Optimization Through Variations in Pit-Firing Kiln Design

3rd Place: Virginia Parrish (Chapin High) - Impact of increased salinity on Rhizophora Mangle

Honorable Mention: Skyla Geiger, Kennedy Cook (The Center & Irmo High) - A Spoonful Bacteria: Understanding Dangers of Leftover Rice

Honorable Mention: Jacob Braden (Chapin High) - LED Wavelength Effect on Iron Richness in Spinach Leaves

 

Physical Science

1st Place: Delaney McGrath (Chapin High) - Jewelry Tarnishing and Bacterial Growth Causing Contact Dermatitis

2nd Place: Lydia Womble (The Center & Chapin High) - Nutraceuticals: Honesty is the Best Pill-acy

 

Life Science

1st Place: Margaret Ryan Floyd, Layla Lindler, Piper Peterson (The Center & Chapin High)- Evaluating the Efficacy of Sunscreen Brands

2nd Place: Megan Proctor, Hayden Sanders, Sara Wessinger (The Center & Chapin High) - Discover the Heartburn Difference

 

Human/Behavioral/Social Science

1st Place: Brenna Sellers (The Center & Spring Hill High) - On Reducing Stress in Classrooms: Peripheral Vision Blocking Glasses

2nd Place: Logan Barilla (Chapin High) - Effectiveness of Financial Literacy Courses in High School

3rd Place: Laiza Smith (The Center & Spring Hill High) - Tech Neck: On the Correlation Between Childhood Screen Time and Accurate Parental Response

Honorable Mention: Mhyla Roussel (Chapin High) - To what extent does a predominantly white high school impact teenage black girl’s self-perception of their attractiveness?

Honorable Mention: Jillian Wertz (Chapin High) - Perception of a brand based on disclaimers

Honorable Mention: Nitya Cherukumalli (Spring Hill High) - To what extent does foundational financial literacy among high school students in District XYZ influence their brand loyalty towards Kellogg’s family-sized cereals when faced with shrinkflation practices?

 

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