01x02 - Judgement Day

[bunniefuu]

30 million students.

78 countries.

Eight million dollars in cash and prizes.

Top prize is 75,000 dollars,

second prize, 50,000 dollars.

Straight cash.

I wanna win something.

I don't wanna pay for college.

If someone thinks

that high school science fairs

are just about volcanoes

they've never been to a science fair.

With time ticking down to ISEF,

this episode follows six more students

from around the world

on their quest to be named Best in Fair.

And the winner

Aw, it's so pretty. Can I smell it?

Today, it's homecoming.

I'm really excited

to be spending time

with my friends from Science Fair,

because we're kind of going

as a collective group.

Three.

Oh, yeah.

Yes!

My friends are awesome.

All we do is cruise and we just,

like, bump music

while we're going down the streets.

They're crazy. I love them, though,

because they're like me. I'm crazy.

I'm weird. They're weird.

We're all weird together.

We all help each other.

We're all really close friends.

Nobody ever feels left out.

Even though it was intimidating at first,

they're all super welcoming and nice

and they have super cool projects.

We have a circle.

The Science Fair family is the circle.

We're gonna change the world together.

Oh, wait, we messed up, no?

No, you screwed up.

- Oh.

- Got it.

-Nice.

-Get it, kid.

I'm feeling a little nervous.

Everyone wore black today,

I don't know why.

And then I thought about how

it was gonna look like

I was going to a funeral.

And I was like,

"I am going to a funeral. My own funeral."

This is a huge day.

The regional science fair.

The culmination of months

and months of work.

Then you have one chance right here

to impress, to compete,

to basically present your work.

Oh, God, I'm scared.

The students at Monte Vista

are presenting their projects virtually.

They have a limited amount of time

to answer questions from the judges,

who will award two exceptional students

a direct ticket to ISEF.

Another select group will earn a trip

to the state fair,

where they'll have one final shot

at making it to ISEF.

First, I wanted to test different types

of plastic to see what the effect

of nutrients would be on the PETase, so

Chloe is a senior.

She has an engineer's mind

and she is interested

in the bacteria that eats plastic.

In order to test my research questions,

I planted three different kinds of plants.

Potatoes, squash and alfalfa

Carlos is our plant guy.

He has some family who farm.

So, he's really interested

in how to improve the crop yield

and whatever it is they're growing.

Last year was the first time

I'd done an environmental project,

and ever since then,

I've never gone back

because I love being outside

and I love, like, actually trying to help

in a big way, so it's definitely

Marissa,

she's been in the field all summer.

Knowing some of her background

and knowing some of the challenges

that she's had, going to ISEF can mean

a complete life change for her.

For any of our kids

from this small little place,

this rural place in Colorado,

ISEF is a way for them to get out

of that state of poverty,

and can be the ticket to a better life.

So, when kids don't make it

ugh, it's just crushing.

Thank you guys so much.

Whew!

That was that was rough.

I keep refreshing. Nothing is happening.

Refresh it again.

-I have been refreshing every ten seconds.

-Sorry, sorry, I'm freaking out.

Everybody

Calm.

- That's not helping.

- We're gonna be calm.

Why is it not up yet? It's literally 7:30.

Oh, it started! It started!

Oh, my God!

Welcome to the 2022 Suwannee Valley

Regional Science Fair Awards.

We've got the awards

and they're literally

They're burning my fingers up

'cause they're just so hot right now,

so

You're sitting there

waiting to hear, it's nerve-racking.

Who's going to ISEF? Who's going to state?

It's just tough. Because honestly,

all these kids worked so hard.

High school biomedical science

Hey, guys, Senior Biomed, this is Chloe.

First place with an award of 45 dollars

and a trip to compete

in the Colorado State Science Fair

is presented to Chloe Hindes,

Monte Vista High School.

- Good job!

- Thank you!

High school botany.

Okay. Shh! Everybody shh! Shh!

First place with an award of 45 dollars

goes to Carlos Ochoa-Marquez

from Monte Vista High School.

I'm literally gonna pass out.

I'm literally gonna pass out.

The next is the International

Science and Engineering Fair alternate.

The alternate will attend

if one of the winners cannot participate.

- This one goes to Chloe Hindes.

- Yes! Yes!

The last one.

The International Science and Engineering

Fair Award is a certificate

and a trip to compete

in Atlanta, Georgia.

I'm going back to my fetal position.

The winner is

Marissa Martinez

from Monte Vista High School.

I'm currently experiencing

a lot of emotions.

Like I'm I'm very happy, um,

but I also feel like I need to cry,

but it's not happening.

But I can actually feel it

kind of happening right now.

I'm, like, going to ISEF.

I don't even know how that happened.

Here's to you guys. You guys did the work.

This is for you.

Congrats, all of you guys.

Toast. Clink, clink, clink, clink,

clink, clink, clink, clink,

clink, clink, clink, clink

-My name is Savdiel Ducret Santana.

-My name is Endrick Garcia Torres.

And we're competing

in Science Fair together.

This is like my brother. He's my homie.

He's amazing to me.

He dances.

I was like, "What are you dancing for?"

Our teachers think we're handfuls.

I scream too much.

He'd been doing this for around six years,

but I started late in the game.

If you want to call it that,

I started in 11th grade with him.

Before I did Science Fair and all that,

it was essentially

just a lot of sports stuff.

But I love medicine.

I hope to be a doctor one day.

Everything is soldered to place

with the sensors,

the Velcro is working. Yeah.

Saturday. Saturday is the big day.

-The big day.

-The big day.

It's the Regional Science Fair.

It's, like, could earn the certificate

to go to the ISEF right there.

One of the inspirations for this project

was because my grandpa died.

He was in the hospital

and he suffered from his wound

that was not constantly monitored.

He ended up having the infection, sepsis,

and ended up dying because of it.

Our project is a wound treatment device

that can detect the levels of temperature,

humidity, and pressure on a wound area.

That'll help to see

if your wound is in a state

that can harbor an infection.

I was in the hospital

that he was when he passed away.

It was sad at the moment,

but I kind of discarded that feeling

and turned it in, like, motivation.

And I was like in my mind,

"we're not qutting this project."

With ISEF, you can see

this type of opportunity to, like,

share your ideas, not only with yourself,

but with the world.

-We're homies.

-We're homies.

If we win the spot to ISEF,

then we're going to Atlanta

and we are partying.

So is it about the science

or the partying?

-Both!

-Both! Why not?

We out.

Forget about things

that you used to know ♪

I'mma show you something

you ain't seen before ♪

Everybody talkin' like they

think they know ♪

But I'm the real deal

baby yeah, fo' sure ♪

Can't tell me nothin'

when I'm on the floor ♪

When I walk by they be

like there she goes ♪

Ooh I know they love

it when I lose control ♪

A stereotype of a science fair kid

is definitely not me.

Um. I'm not your typical nerd.

I like fashion, I like clothes,

curling my hair, wearing makeup.

I never saw myself wanting

to become a scientist.

I kind of just wanted to be like

a fashion star or like someone famous,

like maybe just marry a prince

or something, I don't know.

Act like you know

who's in the room ♪

Some people will see me,

and just think like,

"Oh, she just cares about material stuff."

But I am pretty smart.

The inspiration behind my project,

there's a lagoon in my backyard.

It's home to over 4,300 species

of plants and animals.

Mass amounts of algae

that are covering the surface

of the lagoon,

sunlight can't get through it,

so basically all

of our aquatic plants die.

Seeing how bad it's gotten

from when I was ten years old to now,

it's just, like, really upsetting.

So, this year,

I created three different methods

to reduce algae growth.

The first, with chemicals.

The second, with oyster mats

and the third, with live clams.

All three were incredibly successful

reducing algae concentrations.

The methods that I developed

wouldn't just work

in my lagoon in Florida,

they would work anywhere

that has a similar problem,

restoring a natural balance

and allowing underwater biomes

all around the world to thrive.

Three, two, one.

So, there's the damage done

from a ping pong ball.

- What do you know about ping pong ba*ls?

- Aren't they hollow?

They're very hollow,

they're very light, right?

I'm a big kid at heart.

I'd rather grab their attention,

so they don't want to be on their phones.

Three, two, one.

Oh.

Oh, my gosh.

Taking a beating for my students.

Yeah, it's what we teachers do

for our kids, you know.

Some more than others.

How do you think the judges

are going to be at state?

They're they're tougher than at

than at regional fair, yeah.

The kids started the Science Fair process

at the beginning of the school year.

We have seven kids going on to state,

so I'm hoping that some of the projects

will get their own bid to ISEF.

All right, are you ready?

- I'm stressing.

- Okay.

- You got this, Erin.

- Okay.

The Indian River Lagoon

is 156 miles long.

It's the most biodiverse estuary

in North America. The lagoon

I probably dreamed of qualifying for ISEF

probably, like, starting in sixth grade.

Erin's project has a really good shot.

She knows her topic,

and she's been to state.

This might be her third or fourth time,

so she knows what to expect.

As it is my final year

in my year-three project

Last year I got second,

so I was almost at first place.

This year I am a senior,

so this is my last shot

to get a bid to ISEF.

Yeah, I can't. I'm struggling. Like, bad.

You want to start

from the beginning?

- Yeah. But I can't, like

- Let's start from the beginning.

I can't do this.

- Yes, you can.

- I have so much anxiety right now.

That's why we're doing this.

Just start from the very beginning.

I'm just gonna be

up all night doing this.

You got this!

Ugh.

Winning an ISEF spot

as an alternate is very bittersweet.

It's hard to rely on someone

to achieve something.

And so the goal is to beef up my project

and get more data before state.

As an ISEF alternate,

Chloe has two potential paths to ISEF.

She can qualify by winning one of

the state fair's top five prizes herself.

Or she can qualify if Marissa wins

another spot at the state fair.

Pollution is such a big problem today.

Animals are filled with trash,

microplastics leach into our skin.

My project's goal was to find

an alternative to recycling

and try to solve plastic pollution.

Japanese scientists found

a species of bacteria

that is able to chemically

break down plastic

using an enzyme called polyethylene

terephthalate hydrolase,

or PETase for short.

For my project, I wanted to find out

just how much of that the bacteria

was needed to eat

a given amount of plastic.

I found a trend that the bacteria

that were more starved

were able to eat the plastic better.

The research itself took

at least 1000 hours so far.

I put in the work, so I hope

I can win my own spot to ISEF.

Okay, this Saturday,

you all have to arrive at 2:15pm.

Is that clear?

Business attire, okay?

My name is Yajaira Torres-De Jesús.

I'm a teacher in Colegio Rosa Bell

in Guaynabo.

I don't know

what to expect

or what will happen on Saturday,

but I have really high hopes

and that at least some of you

will be in the competition

and you'll qualify to compete.

Not only representing the school,

but representing Puerto Rico at ISEF.

Okay?

Who is Yajaira?

Tell me about Yajaira.

Oh, my God. Who is that?

I don't

-Who is Yajaira? Do you know her?

-You go first.

Should I go first?

You know why he doesn't want to go first?

'Cause that's his mother.

She thinks that I'm still this little kid.

- So, I'm very protective of him.

- Too much.

I'm gonna be with you 100 years.

That's it. Oh, my God.

And you cannot marry.

You have to take care of me.

-No, just kidding.

-Nah!

My dad left us.

We didn't have money to pay the bills,

so she put taking care of us

like the first priority of hers.

Without her, I wouldn't be the person

that I am right now.

But don't tell her that.

I can do my 50%

but who does the next 50%?

You.

But at school,

she's not my mom.

Oh, no, she's not.

She's the teacher,

and I know her as the teacher,

and if I call her mom, she grabs me.

"You're not I'm not your mom.

I'm your teacher."

I remember my first project,

it didn't win anything.

But it opens opportunities

when you go to college,

like scholarships

and a bunch of other things.

I think that Endrick's interest in science

was 50% his own interest and 50% me.

And do away with any energy

that discourages you. Don't give up.

If I make it to ISEF,

it would mean the world for me and my mom

because I want to see

the fruit of her labor.

Dude, I bet we look so swag.

-What's that?

-What?

This year my project

is on Southwest Willow Flycatcher,

which is an endangered bird species.

We call 'em Swifl.

Swifl. Southwestern. Willow. Flycatcher.

Wait.

S-W-F-L.

Oh, my God. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so

Swfl, okay. In between the S and the W,

is Southwestern,

and in between the F and the L,

is Flycatcher.

Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. Yeah.

This property we have

called McIntyre Simpson.

The east side of the property is where

the Swfl are attracted to right now

and there's only one bird

that's on the west side.

So, I came up with this idea

to compare these two sides

of the property by collecting bug samples,

which is their food supply.

This is all important

because whatever I find with my data

can help save this endangered bird.

You went crazy on this one.

So, like, my family

doesn't do stuff like this.

It's, like, complicated, but my dad,

he was from Mexico

and he got deported when I was seven.

And then I haven't seen him since.

My mom had some rough issues,

drugs and alcohol and stuff.

So, my mom was in prison for three years.

I feel like I matured faster because of,

like, what I had to deal with.

It's definitely been the fuel to kind of

push me to keep going and not give up.

I wonder if Morgon

would let me present again.

I'd like to present.

Yeah. You'll do it here.

You're going to do it here though, too.

-Oh, well, yeah.

-Yeah. For sure.

Our regional fair is really good.

But the type of judging that you get

at the state fair, it's next level.

Right now, it is crunch time,

and they're starting to realize

they're really behind.

Is Chloe getting coffee?

This is my first in-person fair

since seventh grade,

and my seventh grade fair,

it was pretty terrible.

I got so much new data that my spiel

is new, so I am so nervous.

It's okay. Hey.

It'll be fine. You'll see.

Even though

I've already qualified for ISEF,

if I do make ISEF at state,

that would actually give Chloe

a spot to go.

It's kind of a lot of pressure on me.

I have a little bit of a headache

and I can feel

Like I can feel the tiredness hitting

in right now.

Hi, I'm Chloe Hindes.

And this is Reduce, Reuse and Digest.

Optimizing PETase function

within K12 E. coli.

Harvey kind of listens to us present

and gives us feedback.

We all call it "getting the demons out."

No K12 E. coli will be able to grow.

Thus

Uh, there will be no PETase function

because no K12 E. coli growth

equals no PETase function, um

I've had four cups of coffee today.

And I'm about to drink

another two probably.

On the west side, there historically

has been heavy occupancy for Swfl.

It was actually pretty okay

except for Carlos recording all my "ums."

Way less, um, occupancy

on the western side

compared to previous years.

It helps until I have too much

and then I'm like jittery.

There's something here, here, here

and there's a huge pit right here.

In order to test my research question,

I planted three different

kinds of potatoes.

I mean

God, I keep doing that.

I've practiced, I think, five times now.

What do you mean

I spelled "technical" wrong?

- How do you spell it?

- I counted your ums, you had 16.

Scared.

- Stressed.

- Nervous.

-The presentation is everything.

-Yeah. It's the most important thing.

I'm scared of not going to ISEF.

Uncertainty is scary.

Welcome to my kingdom.

That's potatoes. These two are potatoes,

and this big one over here is potatoes.

I love plants because they can't talk

behind your back.

This year, I'm trying to figure out

if a fungus called mycorrhiza

will affect potatoes in a positive

or in a negative way.

It'll create a symbiotic relationship,

where the plant will feed it

and it'll feed the plant.

My uncle grows potatoes,

he's a potato farmer here in the valley.

He loses a lot of money sometimes,

because it's so unpredictable here

in Colorado.

Mycorrhiza could really transform his farm

into something bigger and better.

It could not only transform

my family's practices,

but the entire world.

It could really slow world hunger.

No pressure.

- Come on.

- Why?

You have to at least say hi.

Hi.

I'm the first close relative

that's gone to high school.

My mom dropped out sixth grade,

and my dad dropped out eighth grade

to go to work.

My parents came here,

they immigrated from Mexico.

They wanted to give their children

a better life.

They're glad that they moved here

and gave us all these new opportunities

that they never had.

She says she feels really proud,

because seeing as they can't help me

very much, they

And how it's just, like,

me 90% of the time,

they are really proud of that.

I need to do well at state.

Not just for myself,

but for my family too.

Chloe Huertas. Ya, Manuel Agostín,

Iván Rodríguez.

Science Fair Regional!

Let's go! Whoo!

The watch, the patterned shirt from Zara.

-Flashy and smart.

-Flashy and smart.

-Well

-I can't really do this because

I just feel like I'm gonna break this.

You can't really move.

It's too tight for you.

The Puerto Rico delegation

sends only eight projects to ISEF.

We compete with 14 schools,

most of them are specialized

in science and math, and we are not.

This is not gonna be easy.

I don't really have

a "not to be nervous" strategy.

I just try to breathe.

We only have one shot to make it to ISEF.

Me and Savdiel put a lot of work

in this project. It's nerve-racking.

Good morning, finalists!

Welcome to the State Science Fair.

Good luck, everyone.

Hoping for no blisters today.

That's I mean,

you gotta look good, right?

The competition's tough.

These guys are the best of the best

around the state of Florida.

State is just a whole n'other world.

There's almost 800 projects.

They're only giving out eight bids today,

which is not a lot.

This is my last shot to get a bid to ISEF.

I'm, like, super, super nervous.

I'm I'm starting to freaking out.

- Don't be nervous.

- It's hitting me.

- You own this.

- I'm not nervous! I'm excited!

Students are welcome in at this time.

Finalists only. No parents or teachers.

Around 20 million hospitalizations occur

because of wound-related infections.

We wanted to create a device

that was affordable

so that they can monitor the wounds

and it doesn't get to the point

where sepsis occurs

and we have real complications

and problems.

You only get to present once

to every judge.

You don't have the opportunity to mess up.

When you get too low,

the K12 E. coli will just die off.

I was able to identify

forage availability,

vegetation distribution

and vegetation structure.

It was able to more easily attach itself

and become a full symbiotic relationship

with the potatoes.

I have some competition.

This other micro-project

sitting right next to me

Our projects weren't too similar, like,

he grew different plants than I did.

So, it could go either way.

So, my negative control was

the pure crustacean-derived ketasin

We are all stressing.

They're on, like, a time schedule today.

They're like, "You have five minutes, go."

So, it's hard,

because we never practiced like that.

My head is just racing.

I'm, like, I don't even know what to say.

Hey! Whoop, whoop! How did it go?

I'm not gonna lie, I blacked out

most of my actual interview.

The other kid, like,

explained everything beautifully.

This lady absolutely grilled me.

My mind's fried.

I don't know what's happening anymore.

I don't even know where I am.

If I make it to ISEF tomorrow,

someone will have to drag me out of there.

'Cause I'll just be like,

"What just happened?"

We're kind of in a waiting game.

And we won't hear about the results

until tomorrow night

at the awards ceremony.

We're extremely proud

of everyone.

We hope we'll have the greatest

success with the blessing of God

in that awards ceremony.

One! Two! Three!

- Cougars!

- Cougars!

ISEF is a great opportunity

to represent my country in a good way

and show people

that we're also very capable people

and we're very smart in our own right.

I'm nervous for them,

but a little edge is good, you know.

I'd love to take three kids to ISEF.

My last judge said I had too much data.

And too many trials.

How can you have too much data?

-I don't know.

-Is that a bad thing?

I don't know, apparently.

I've never gotten that before.

I don't know what's going to happen.

It's scary.

This is it. Pray for the best.

A round of applause for us!

Well, what I'm wearing later,

I think I'm going to wear

those glasses over there.

Just like that extra tip of swag.

Oh, yeah.

- Whoa!

- There we go.

Kind of long,

because I'm kinda just, like, short.

Okay, just have to Let me fix this.

I'm gonna put this

under my eyes,

so I don't look like I have

bags under my eyes from doing Science Fair

for the past 36 hours.

I have to put on perfume,

because you gotta smell good

when you do these things.

I kinda do like a three-thing. Mm, mm, mm.

I actually kinda ate some.

I'm coughing on it.

There's five people that can make it

to ISEF from here today.

Best case scenario, we all

-Go to ISEF.

-Go to ISEF.

We're ready.

I'm so nervous.

It's actually really stressful.

But I just, like, picked a dress

and I was like, "This one looks good."

I got these shoes to match, the jewelry,

it's all, like, drippy.

We just kinda finished getting ready.

I'm ready.

So, we're all feeling the nerves now

a little bit, or at least I am,

I don't know about everybody else.

I'm fine now,

but I know that as soon as we eat,

I'm gonna feel like I need to puke.

That reminds me,

I need to bring the TUMS.

The part that makes me

most nervous

Who will get the grand awards?

The grand awards are the ones

that go to ISEF,

representing Puerto Rico, so

that's the part

that makes me most nervous.

Kinda excited because I wanna see,

like, who wins.

Oh, yeah. Most definitely.

We're here?

Yes.

Showtime?

Showtime.

Welcome, everyone.

- This is scary.

- It's okay.

The Colorado Science and Engineering Fair

has 12 categories of competition

in which students can participate.

For each category, I will call finalists

to the stage in alphabetical order.

Once all of the finalists have reached

the wings over here, I will announce

We're here to motivate him

to continue with his project

and keep moving upwards.

All right, here we go.

Microbiology and molecular biology.

Will the following students

come to the stage?

Margaret Arthur, Arman Gill,

Chloe Hindes, Claire Krasinski,

and Emma Seliskar.

Go, Chloe!

I believe in you, Chloe!

The award of Honorable Mention goes

to Arman Gill from Lamar High School.

The award of Honorable Mention goes to

Emma Seliskar from Evergreen High School

and Evergreen for the project "Bee Yeast."

You placed!

The award of third place

goes to Chloe Hindes

from Monte Vista High School

in Monte Vista

for the project "Reduce, Reuse, Digest.

Optimizing PETase function

with K12 E. coli."

The award for second place

goes to Claire Krasinski from

- Congratulations!

- Thanks.

Hey, it's okay, it's okay.

Listen. I went as alternate, okay?

There's still a chance.

Think of like,

Cole falling or something, okay?

Think of something funny.

- Yeah, I'm just

- You got it. Ready? One more time.

-cause it's my last project.

-I know. It'll be okay.

Take the picture, it'll be okay.

No tears yet. No tears yet.

You're okay. Get back.

I need you three at the back.

Yup. Center. Yup, perfect.

It is the moment we've been waiting for.

It's time for the best of CSEF Junior

and Senior division awards.

I wanna win,

that would actually give

Chloe a spot to go,

and I know that she really wants to

and she really deserves it.

So, I'm a little nervous.

These students' projects

have been outstanding

in the areas of science,

technology, engineering

and mathematics.

High School Grand Awards,

these winners will represent Puerto Rico

as finalists at the International Science

and Engineering Fair

taking place in Atlanta, Georgia.

When they start

mentioning, like, the Grand Awards,

which are ISEF,

I was kinda nervous.

From the School of San Juan,

Maria Morales-Quezada.

I believe in what we did,

and the meaning behind our project.

But there's no guarantee.

From the School of Math,

Science & Technology of San Juan,

Diego Corales Casillas,

and Joy Velazquez Colon.

We didn't get

third place, we didn't get second place.

Me and Savdiel

were looking at each other like,

"Okay, what we gonna do now!"

We might win,

but what if we're not called?

It's all or nothing now.

And the high school

from Colegio Rosa-Bell,

Endrick Garcia Torres

and Savdiel Ducret Santana.

It brings to me,

like, that feeling of honor

that I'm going to be able

to share my ideas to other people

from other countries, other nations

that don't even know

that this island even exists.

And just to show them that there's, like,

actual potential in us. It's a huge honor.

Una, dos, tres.

I feel really ecstatic.

Can't wait for ISEF.

Atlanta ain't ready for your boy.

- Atlanta ain't ready for Puerto Ricans!

- Ain't ready for Puerto Rico!

We feel really happy,

real proud that we won the grand prize.

Senior Division Plant Sciences.

Dude, I'm going to puke.

Carlos Ochoa-Marquéz and Denton Peil,

please come to the stage.

The award for second place

goes to Carlos Ochoa-Marquéz from

Monte Vista High School in Monte Vista

for the project "Myco madness,

the effects of Mycorrhiza

on Solanum tuberosum,

Cucurbita pepo, and Medicago sativa."

That is awesome.

Take two shots. All right.

We don't have a lot of schooling.

We come from a little town in Mexico.

And we only studied up to 6th grade.

It feels really nice that

he's doing really well in school

in spite of the fact that

we can't help him much.

He's gotten very far.

Can I have your money?

No?

I got second place in my category,

close to 900 dollars, I think.

Carlos, you did okay.

You could've done way better.

Okay, rude.

That's almost as much money

as I earned working at Walmart

for like six months. So, you know.

Very happy!

The other kid beat me,

but it's okay.

-Ah!

-He's crying.

No! I'm not.

He's not crying.

He's a tough man, he's not crying.

Somebody say something funny.

Uh, kisses on the forehead!

-That's not not at all funny.

-25! 25!

Angela Wang, Tom Commander.

It's really hard to, like,

place well at state.

Siddarth Chidda.

Oh, well.

-You got first place.

-Uh-uh, it's actually, no.

I've been to states four times.

Last year I got second,

and I thought I had a chance.

Ryan Napoleon. Ishika Mag.

Alexander Sulvic.

Erin Gaydar.

-Oh! I got something.

-First place.

- That's crazy!

- I think it's first place.

I think I actually got something,

that's kind of cool.

Now, for our first place

in Senior Division.

In plant sciences, we have Erin Gaydar

from Brevard Intracoastal.

Yeah, Erin! Yeah!

I was in shock.

I was falling short like every time.

I can't believe I did this, like,

I can't believe I made it.

Erin places first in her category.

But out of the 13 category winners,

only eight will go to ISEF.

There's some really good projects.

There's no way I'm top eight

in this entire fair, like there's no way.

Now, this year's grand award,

Best in Fair,

we have

in the Plant Sciences category,

Brevard Intracoastal Erin Gaydar.

Let's go, Erin!

Yeah!

Oh, my God. I'm going to cry.

I'm going to cry.

Oh, my God!

I'm going to ISEF!

-Congratulations! Yes, you are!

-Oh, my baby girl!

Congratulations.

After ten years of Science Fair,

I get a bid to ISEF.

That's crazy.

Walking to that hall at ISEF,

it's gonna be crazy.

I'm like what the

All right, friends,

it is the moment we've been waiting for.

It's time for the best of CSEF Junior

and Senior Division Awards.

All first place division category winners

are eligible for the best

of CSEF project awards.

The top five projects receive

an expense-paid trip to compete

in the Regeneron International Science

and Engineering Fair.

Fifth place goes to

Henry Westfall from Fairview High School

in Boulder.

It's hard to rely on someone

to achieve something.

Fourth place, Natalie Pujet

from Fairview High School in Boulder.

Winning an ISEF spot

as an alternate

would be kind of bittersweet.

Third place, best of CSEF Senior Division,

goes to

Marissa Martinez

from Monte Vista High School, Monte Vista.

Chloe! You're going to ISEF!

Not bad!

Marissa's project is titled

Are you sure you're happy?

Oh, yeah, I'm really happy

because now Chloe gets to come.

Thank you.

I've spent so much time and energy

on this project to try to make it myself.

And it feels like I'm going

off of Marissa's work.

Ooh. Ow.

So, it was our last

high school game at our home court.

I went up for a rebound,

and I landed with my legs straight

and my knee just it went back.

So, I have ACL surgery, meniscus, and MCL.

So, I can't go to ISEF.

The point of ISEF was like,

me going with you, going to Atlanta.

Just having this sudden news

and it's kind of troubling.

I just want him to go, but he can't.

I don't want to do this project alone.

Yes, you wearing this.

It looks professional.

- Here.

- Thank you.

Please put it in.

- I brought you a

- Ow!

I've been trapped in this Jericho bubble.

I'm so intrigued to see

what other schools are like.

It's currently 4:03 in the morning

and we're about to leave on our journey

to the Denver Airport,

which I've never been to.

A lot of our kids fall below

a particular poverty line.

These kids have never been outside

of the state.

Are we there yet?

This will be my first time

on a plane. I'm kinda nervous about it.

For them to go and meet kids

from other countries,

who are just as geeky and excited

as they are, that is so powerful.

Oh, my God.

I'm treadmilling. Run!

- The airport smells funny, um

- But I really like it. It's cool.

We are super hyped

and ready to go to Atlanta!

My family and friends came.

They're like cheering for, like,

me and my friends.

That was, like, awesome.

Bye, guys. I love you.

- Bye!

- Bye!

Have I been on a train before?

- Yes!

- But not like a train-train.

Quickly. Get in, get in, get in.

Going to Atlanta without Savdiel

is pretty sad.

But ISEF given me the opportunity to,

like, compete.

They see that my project has potential,

so I didn't want to miss it.

Please give your mother a big hug,

and then you're going to follow me.

Bye bye, you guys.

Bye!

Why are you crying?

You wanted my room!

Bye-bye.

She's so happy but I'm not happy.

I'm so worried about her.

No! I don't want her to go!

Here we go.

Welcome everyone to the 2022

International Science

and Engineering Fair.

Let's do this!