A student answers questions from a judge about her project at the Diocesan Science & Engineering Fair.
IC photo/Linda PetersenDRAPER — Students from 13 Utah Catholic schools showcased their exploration of the natural world at Juan Diego Catholic High School in Draper on Feb. 7 during the annual Diocesan Science & Engineering Fair. The event, celebrating its 30th year of sponsorship by the Utah Knights of Columbus, highlighted the dedication of students, teachers and volunteers committed to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education within a faith-based environment.
Science fair organizer Dr. Christine Celestino, JDCHS vice principal, noted that the number of participants, which this year was 178, has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Participating in the fair can benefit students, Celestino added. “I’m hoping that they’re going to walk away from this experience more confident, with more self-confidence that they’re able to tackle big questions. Participating in the fair is an important educational experience for the students.”
The projects at the science fair ranged from fundamental questions to sophisticated, high-level research. For instance, Tinslee Kirchbach, a 10-year-old fifth-grader from St. Marguerite Catholic School in Tooele, tested an electric motor.
“I’m really happy to be here and I’m excited to see what’s going to be ahead of me,” said Tinslee, who was participating in her first diocesan fair.
Other students focused on practical, real-life applications. Poppie Kail, a 12-year-old seventh-grader from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Salt Lake City, investigated environmental solutions by creating edible water bottles out of materials like cookie dough and seaweed.
People could purchase water in one of these bottles and when finished could consume the bottle, so that it would not end up in the ocean like many plastic bottles do, Poppie said, noting that while the seaweed bottle held up best, the cookie dough version tasted much better.
Sophia Sanchez, 12, a student at Saint John the Baptist Middle School in Draper, tackled a social issue by studying the effects of social media on kids.
“I chose this project because I’m really interested in human behavior; I think it’s fascinating how people’s brains work,” Sophia said. “And people are always telling me social media is bad for you, so I had to find out for myself.”
Her research showed that social media often causes more stress as children get older, but that it can also be used as a positive reward system.
Many students explored creative questions using everyday items. For example, one student asked “Which Sock is the Hottest?,” and tested how different materials retain heat. Another project, titled “Slippery Science,” investigated friction on different surfaces. On a different tack was the experiment “Thinking to the Beat,” which tested if the tempo of music affects how quickly a person can solve problems.Emma Ashby, a student from Blessed Sacrament Catholic School in Sandy, was named the Young Scientist of the Year for her project “A Prehistoric Native American Petroglyph that Aligns with Equinoxes, Solstices, and the Pole Star.” 
This year, the Knights of Columbus introduced the “Frances Lavoie Culture of Life” trophy, recognizing projects that ethically deal with pro-life issues. Previously the winner of the award received a certificate. This year the award, sponsored by past Utah Knights of Columbus State Deputy Andy Airriess in honor of his mother-in-law, was given to Juan Diego CHS students Sarah Leng and Paul Claudon for their project “Generating a PD-1 CAR Construct for Use in CAR-Treg Therapy.”
Additionally, the fair introduced a new category for computational methods and computer engineering to encourage coding and robotics. St. John the Baptist Middle School student Jad Alharethi won this award for his project “GPT 5: Fact or Fiction.”
The overall quality of the entries was extremely high, according to Bill McCauley, Utah Knights of Columbus fair organizer. He noted that one judge, a former participant himself, was amazed to find a seventh-grader conducting an experiment equivalent to work he himself did as a college sophomore.
The majority of students who entered the fair will go on to represent their schools at the University of Utah Science & Engineering Fair March 10-13. 
To commemorate the 30th anniversary, the Utah Knights commissioned a special challenge coin, which they presented to participants, judges, volunteers and staff.
Students from across the diocese brought their best efforts to the Diocesan Science & Engineering Fair. IC photo/Linda Petersen