A.J. Revera’s science fair project looked at fingerprint similarities among family members. (CONTRIBUTED)

Is Nike or Underarmour the better choice? The science fair at Horizon Elementary School answered this question and many others.

Fifth- and sixth-graders selected topics of interest with no overriding theme. “All projects exhibited the scientific method: Pose a hypothesis, design a procedure, conduct research, collect data, draw a conclusion and present your findings,” enrichment specialist Beth Bero said.

For example, information about a butterfly would constitute a report. “‘Which paper towel is most absorbent?’ is a research-based question,” Bero said.

Science teachers Dr. Gloria Harrison and Chassity Smith organized 76 entries from fifth grade and 28 in sixth grade. Teachers required all students to conduct research but entering the fair was optional.

Six community residents degreed or experienced in science were judges. “All fifth-grade projects were judged against each other,” as were sixth-grade entries, Bero said.

Sixteen Horizon students will advance to the regional science meet at the University of Alabama in Huntsville on March 7.

Sixth-graders with top projects were Ryan Bergin, “Nike vs. Underarmour”; Leslie Ch, “Solar Sun”; Caroline Day, “Dirty Water No More”; Diane Hudson, “What Color Candle Lasts the Longest?”; Ian Kurowsky, “Density Differences”; Katherine Maner, “Diapers”; Erin Medrano. “Are 6th-Graders Healthy?”; Nickolas Mothersele, “Robots vs. Humans”; Claire O’Neal, “Swinging Pendulums”; Will Posey, “How a Speaker Works”; A.J. Revera, “Family Fingerprints”; Jordan Rudd, “Best Brand of Popcorn”; Raegan Segerson, “Siri – Speech Recognition”; Egan Shankleton, “High vs. Low Pressure”; Hannalyn Wilks, “Reactions”; and Colby Williams, “Balloon Travel.”

Sixth-graders Andrew Balazsy and Douglas Zheng received honorable mentions.

Top fifth-grade projects belonged to Kauryn Datcher, “Is Bottled Water Cleaner than Tap?”; Rory House, “It’s All About Speed”; Sam Maynard, “Poppin’ Good Results”; Aristotelis Prapiadis, “Effect of Skateboard Weight”; Thomas Rock, “Can I Read Your Mind?”; Yunona Shkolnikov, “Study of Sky Colors”; Camille Walters, “Bath and Body”; and Ethan Whallon, “Meteor Impact.”

Fifth-graders with honorable mentions were fifth-graders Emilee Lamps, Nicholas Capizzo, Marie Gremillion, Seth Phillips, Kyla Diei, Jessie Litton, Alex Gonzalez, Nathan Windham, Laura Conner and Benjamin Creekmore.

For more information, visit narsef.uah.edu.