The 57th San Juan Basin Regional Science Fair took place Thursday, March 5 at the La Plata County Fairgrounds in Durango, CO. The Drum was able to catch up with three tribal members that made the regional science fair this year: Jazmin Carmenoros, Shyanne Vigil and Lakota TwoCrow. These students were among hundreds who made it to the regional gathering including, Archuleta, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan Counties.
Carmenoros, a sixth grader at St. Columba School, did her project on ‘Vitamin C Power’. The big question was: Will fresh squeezed orange juice have more Vitamin C than purchased or pasteurized orange juice?
Carmenoros dropped a chemical called indophenol solution into the orange juice to change the color and see how much vitamin C it contained.
Clear meant a lot of vitamin C, reddish-purple meant a little, and dark blue meant no vitamin C at all, she said.
According to Carmenoros, after testing 3 different orange juices she concluded that her hypothesis was wrong.
It turned out the Minute Maid Orange Juice was the best and lasted longer when it is not refrigerated. Tropicana came in second place when it came to leaving it out and not refrigerated. Lastly, never leave your fresh squeezed juice out for a long period of time, she said.
“I learned that vitamin C is important and it’s an essential nutrient for the human body, providing our immune system and preventing us from diseases like the flu,” Carmenoros said.
Vigil, an eighth grader at Ignacio Middle School, focused her project on ‘Hair Chemicals’ this year. She examined which of the following worked better at lightening hair: Hydrogen Peroxide or Bleach. Vigil tested different volumes of each to see which lightened hair the quickest, she said.
Vigil came to the conclusion; that with some heat, 30 percent volume Hydrogen Peroxide lightened hair 30 minutes faster then the others.
‘The Percentage of Genetically Modified Foods’ was the name of TwoCrow’s project.
TwoCrow, an eighth grader at Ignacio Middle School, recorded his meals for three days, he wrote down all the ingredients and calculated that 54.5 percent of all the food he ate was genetically modified, he said
“I chose GMO’s because I love genic engineering and just doing this project helped me learn that not all foods you eat are organic,” TwoCrow said.
At the end of the day, Carmenoros won $25 as a special reward and TwoCrow received Regional Science Fair Honorable Mention.