The SIM Science Fair brought together school representatives from San Bernardino, Inyo, and Mono counties. Liana’s project took first place in the Junior Division and she traveled to the California Science Center in Los Angeles on April 24th and 25th for the state level of competition. There, she received Honorable Mention for her project.
In addition to the championship trophy, which is nearly as large as Liana herself, she was also awarded one of two special Sweepstakes medals, designating hers as the most outstanding project in the Junior Division.
Liana and three other OLA finalists, eighth grader Shin Hwa No, and the sixth grade team of Shea Stevens and Brooke Lyons, all attended the SIM Fair and each received recognition.
“The students worked hard and are all blessed with the support of their families,” said OLA Science teacher Jennifer Amori.
Liana also noted the work and time she put into the project and said she chose it based on her desire to work with petri dishes. Having extremely sensitive skin, herself, she said she wanted to know which lotion she could count on to get her through the summer. One of her resources was Dr. Phillip Hsu, Assistant Chief of Dermatology at Kaiser. With his help, Liana developed her hypothesis that Aveeno lotion would be most effective.
The results? Vaseline and Aqua Four ointments are the most effective moisturizers, but these are sometimes too heavy for people to comfortably wear without getting them on their clothes, so Liana’s Aveeno hypothesis stood up to scrutiny!
“I felt very proud when they called me,” commented Liana on her first place finish.