Ants' navigation - Yubin and Melisa

For this project, Yubin and Melisa wanted to determine the behavior of ants when they are placed in an unfamiliar environment, given different conditions. The experiment was inspired by the lack of importance that ants have and their awareness of these tiny insects. The experiment started off as enjoyable, but as they set up their work and began collecting data, they experienced many difficulties. With ants being their subjects, they had a hard time collecting data with the small sample sizes.

They feel that they could have done better with their project and their message to those participating next year is to "Choose a topic that can be easily observed."

Does swimming pool water curl hair? -Jiseop and Minchae

As the title states, Jiseop and Minchae wanted to determine if swimming pool water curls a person's hair as they compared different types of hair in different types of water. Their inspiration for this project came from Minchae's curiosity when he discovered that his hair had curled after swimming; he wanted to see if there was a scientific explanation for this. Their research was partially successful, as they were able to somewhat prove their hypothesis, and they felt that their finishing project and the research they had done was a success. One of the most difficult things they had to experience with this project was when they had to constantly dunk hair into water.

Their advice for next year's participants would be to "start working on the project early on and not procrastinate."

Back To Its Roots - Kaila

Kaila was one of the students who had chosen to work by themselves for the fair. The inspiration for this project thrived from her concerns about the environment. What sparked her interest towards her idea was when she discovered a video that stated that the mekong river was one of the most plastic polluted in the world. "Many people believe that biodegradable plastic is bad," she says. "But it really isn't." Thus, she decided on a project that could prove people wrong. Her project was to determine what natural conditions make biodegradable plastic naturally degrade the most. Her experience in researching and collecting data for her project was a tough process; because biodegrading is a procedure that takes a minimum of three months, she was unable to collect any data until two weeks after the data was due for the projects. This means that she only had a short period of time to analyze her data and piece her project, which resulted in a very amazing outcome. She was very pleased with her finished project and all the hard work she has put into it.

Her advice for those who are participating next year is to "Choose a project that you love because you will spend more than 3 months thinking about it and working on things related to it." She also highly suggests that you "do not procrastinate."

How do reactions to fear-inducing experiences differ between the two genders? - Tehsin and Emily

Doing research with horror and fear, Tehsin and Emily wanted to determine how differently each gender reacts to fear, aiming to prove their hypothesis that female participants would react more to a stimulus than male participants. The inspiration for this project came from what seemed to entertain the society nowadays, one of them being horror. They had a fun experience: making people watch short horror films and play fear-related games, watching and being amused by their reactions, and they even filmed the reactions of each subject, but sadly lost the footage. The difficulties they experienced constructing their project was having to put everything together, trying to place information that did not seem right, and overall just ending the stress of their work. They felt that they could have done better but their finishing piece was very good and visually pleasing, and they had all their information recorded on there. They were just really glad to be done.

Their advice for next year's participants would be to have good communication with your partner, to have data backed up, and to keep your testable question clear and very precise.

What's the best hair removal method? - Elizabeth and Hannah

This eccentric, yet interesting project was constructed by Elizabeth and Hannah. The girls wanted to determine the best way to remove the most body hair in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of pain - the most convenient way of hair removal. Their inspiration for this project came from watching a compilation of people waxing body hair, which was very satisfying for them to watch. Their experience was quite relaxed and easygoing because they had fun, didn't stress, and completed their work early. "The best part of this project," they said, "was waxing people and watching their reactions." The most difficult experience that had while completing their project was finding the subjects for it, as not many people would volunteer to have their hair removed. They are happy and pleased with their project, but they felt that they could have gotten more people to do it, therefore have more results.

Their advice for those who are participating next year is to "start everything early so that you don't have to stress the last minute."

How does location affect the cleanliness and safety of water in Phnom Penh? - Anonymous

Their project was about how locations affect the cleanliness of water. They were inspired by the way people used pond water to drink, cook, wash their clothes, and so forth, which made them wonder how it could affect the people's health by using pond water and how the people's actions affect the environment. Researching was extremely tedious for them and they hated it. Making the poster boards, though, were fun ("but turned out disastrous"). The worst part was running out of time to collect data and procrastinating and finishing the boards last minute, which made them late for a class. They still had to turn in their boards late. Overall, they're pleased, but also sad and disappointed. It could've been better if they didn't procrastinate.

Their tips for next year? "DON'T PROCRASTINATE, IT'S NOT FUN."

Student choice

1. Most Extravagant Display:     Tehsin & Emily

2. Most Applicable to Life:       Limeng & solomon

3. Most Random Question or Idea: Yejin & Hee Joo

4. Best Data Collection: Andy & Emil, Janice & Lindsay

5. Most Functional Design:         Ansel & Jim

6. Best Overall Project:              Tehsin & Emily

Biology, Chemistry, & Environmental Science

1. First place: Kaila

2. Second place: Ricky & Dohun

3. Third place: Luke

4. Honorable Mention: Limeng & Solomon

Psychology & Sociology

1. First place: Tiferre & Sihaneath

2. Second place: Jennifer & Seong Hwa

3. Third place: Naomi

4. Honorable Mention: Yejin & Hee Joo

Medical & Health Sciences

1. First place: Janice & Lindsay

2. Second place: Diamondna

3. Third place: Elizabeth & Hannah, Yechan & Audrey

Computer Science, Engineering & Physics

1. First place: Jim & Ansel

2. Second place: Peter

3. Third place: Laura & Michelle

4. Honorable Mentions: Dillion & Navid, Seongyo & Sopheanuk