ROCK SPRINGS — Nine Big Piney Middle School (BPMS) students competed at the Southwest Regional Science Fair held at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs on Feb. 1. About 100 students from across the region showcased their research at the fair. By placing in the top three at regionals, all BPMS students qualified to attend the 2024 State Science Fair to be held at the University of Wyoming in Laramie March 3-5.
BPMS seventh-grader Tinley Kern was selected as the overall winner of the Southwest Regional Science Fair and was awarded a two-year, full-tuition scholarship to Western Wyoming Community College.

Additional placings are below.

• Computer Engineering, first place: Charlie Knotts with her project called “Computer Engineered Fruit Ripeness Sensor.”

• Animal Science, first place: Candace Cary and Matazie Jones with their team project, titled “The Effect of Gender on Fingerprints.”

• Plant Science, first place: Tinley Kern with her project, “The Effect of Soil on Hay Quality: An Analysis of High Elevation Grass Hay Production in the Middle Piney Range.”

• Chemistry, second place: Adison Penfield and Anju Lee Sevenski with their team project, “The Effect of Different Materials on Ice Melt.”

• Physics, third place: Chandler Jones with his project, “The Effects of Water Molecules on Laser Light Dispersion.”

• Biomedical Sciences, third place: Clayton Jenks and Dane Brandt with their team project titled, “The Effect of Filters on the Spread of Tobacco Mosaic Virus.”