Liberty Bell student Josie Bolinger was named to the Top 300 in the 2022 Broadcom Masters, a competitive program for grade 6-8 students sponsored by the Society for Science. This honor places Josie among a select group of 300 finalists named from 1,807 entrants throughout the United States – themselves representing the top 10% of projects from state science fairs.
Josie entered her seventh grade “Be A Scientist” project, titled Cell Deterioration in Spider Plant Roots, into the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair (WSSEF). “My project was exposing spider plant roots to different pH levels,” she explained, “and how that would affect the biology of the cells.”
Josie encourages other students to enter their projects in competitive science fairs. “It never hurts to enter it into the science fair,” she said. “Your topic doesn’t have to be extravagant. It would be really great if more people would enter it.”
In the WSSEF, students were interviewed online by a panel of judges. After winning a Broadcom Masters nomination from WSSEF, Josie completed a rigorous application process that not only examined her project, but also asked essay questions about other topics – such as who she would choose to bring on a mission to Mars! “ It was a very good learning experience,” said Josie of the application process.
In her future, Josie is interested in pursuing further studies in science subjects such as psychology, biochemistry, and astrophysics. “I’ll want to pursue that because science has always been an interest of mine,” she said.
The “Be A Scientist” project was made possible thanks to funding from the Methow Valley Public Schools Funding Alliance and by the volunteer efforts of Methow Valley scientists who mentor students through individually-designed experiments. The volunteers are essential to the students’ success in this project, and Liberty Bell will be recruiting “Be A Scientist” mentors this fall to work with students in January. Because scientist mentors work in small groups with students, “having more mentors would be very helpful,” Josie explained.
Please join us in congratulating Josie for this incredible accomplishment!