Projects have been collected, awards given and tri-fold boards abandoned as the annual Oakdale Joint Unified School District Science Fair has come to a close.

Close to 150 projects found their way to a new home this year, as the annual event was hosted for the first time in the Oakdale Junior High School gym. A change which OJHS Vice Principal Talmage Allen shared was not only more economical but made sense.

As the FES Hall gains event popularity so too does its usage fee. A fact Allen shared the district understood yet struggled with budgeting. Allen indicated with a few things tweaked by way of set up and take down, the Junior High campus was able to offer its space.

“Having it at the Junior High was really nice,” Fair Oaks Vice Principal Jennifer Davis stated. “It was nice to have all of the projects in the same room. I think the younger students really enjoyed getting to see the seventh and eighth graders.”

On Tuesday evening, April 30 families, friends, educators and community members filled the gym to review as well as admire the findings of the district’s youth.

Sierra View third grader Ryan Rost was excited to the share the findings of his project How Much Sugar is in Soda? with attendees. Using a handheld measuring device the Sierra View Coyote was able to determine which soda contained the highest sugar content.

“To tell people not to drink as much soda because they’ll get sick or maybe get diabetes,” the third grader said of his motivation.

Much to his surprise all regular sodas held equal amounts of sugar, which was higher than the diet sodas.

“A lot of credit needs to be given to Krista Smith,” Cloverland Vice Principal Ben Cortes shared of the Elementary Science Enrichment Teacher. “She does most of the work behind the scenes with little to no recognition.”

According to Cortes, Smith along with the district vice principals begin planning the event in late October, early November. Work which both vice principals shared becomes well worth it come the night of the community event.

“I always enjoy seeing the students at Science Night, sharing their projects,” Davis said. “One of the main goals of the Science Fair is to get students excited about doing science.”

Cortes shared he too enjoys viewing the varying projects of the students, offering special appreciation for the effort and hard work.

“More so than that,” Cortes added, “I enjoy hearing from the kids about how they learned from their failures. It is another demonstration that our district and community is doing something right and raising students/people who will persevere and succeed in life.”

The annual Science Fair Awards night was hosted on Monday, May 6 at the Magnolia Elementary Auditorium.