Science Fair

By Srihita Madiraju April 2, 2025

On March 7 at 4 p.m., the school cafeteria transformed into a large showcase buzzing with excitement. Students of various grades at nearby schools trickled in, armed with large posters and other props to demonstrate their hard work. Rows of colorful displays exhibiting their scientific endeavors decorated the cafeteria as children eagerly explained their projects to other parents, students and judges.

The Leland Science Club began hosting the annual fair in 2020, but went on hiatus in 2022. This is their first time hosting the event since then. 

The fair provides a competition-like platform for students from six different schools—Bret Harte Middle School and Graystone, Guadalupe, Hacienda, Simonds and Williams Elementary schools—to display their passion for science. Its organizers this year included Leland Science Club students, along with other parents and students. Parent volunteers served as adult judges to assess the wide variety of projects, which were classified as either experiments, inventions or demonstrations—the last of which was only accepted for students in grades 1-3. Anyone was welcome to attend and explore the projects.

“I love coming here each year and looking at different projects, even though I am not participating. This year, some of the projects were much more complex than usual, and students went into more depth when researching and conducting experiments,” Sophomore Gauri Paliwal said. 

Students explored a variety of topics. For example, Gigi Khuri-Yakub, a second grader at Graystone Elementary School, conducted an experiment about whether or not her cat preferred old or new toys. She said it fostered her ability to choose a research question and her interest in scientific experiments overall. 

“I chose my topic because I love cats and I have one. I really enjoyed working on it,” Khuri-Yakub said. 

Other projects were more technical. Aarav Pai, Neelan Sundaralingam, Rishaan Samuel and Aarnav Rastogi, seventh graders at Bret Harte Middle School, studied the effect of hydration on heart rate recovery. They spent about two weeks working on collecting test subjects and conducting multiple trials in which subjects had to run with and without hydration in the form of Gatorade. The students explained how they chose this topic because they are all athletes and wanted to know if Gatorade helped them perform better, and their results showed that test subjects did better when hydrated with the energy drink.

Other projects included that of seventh graders Anika Gopalan, Melody Chou and Jiho Moon from Bret Harte Middle School, who examined blood viscosity in the heart. Yet the fair featured more than just experiments—inventions had a spotlight too. For example, Allison Svec, a student at Graystone Elementary School, created a robotic “super fish” complete with a prototype diagram. 

Photo by Wei Wang

Despite the variety of many creative, original projects, there could only be a few winners. The competition was judged in two divisions: elementary school and middle/high school, with first, second and third places along with honorable mentions were included for every grade level. Adult judges made decisions based on originality, board layout and complexity, along with students’ knowledge about the subject and ability to answer additional questions. 

In the elementary school division, Aarav Agarwal won with his project called “Moon Phases, Many Faces.” In the middle school division, the aforementioned team including Aarav Pai, Neelan Sundaralingam, Rishaan Samuel and Aarnav Rastogi won for their project on heart rate and exercise. 

Junior Avni Iyer, co-organizer of the fair, explained that Leland Science Club began preparation last fall. This semester, the group focused on reaching out to surrounding elementary and middle schools to promote participation.

“We organize this fair every year to give students who are interested in science to showcase their choice of subject. I was really impressed by the quality of projects and enthusiasm the kids brought. I learned not to underestimate younger kids' curiosity and creativity, they'll always surprise you!” Iyer said. 

The Leland Science Club looks forward to hosting the fair next year, intending to continue provoking passion for STEM-related subjects in students across San Jose schools.

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About the Contributors

Srihita Madiraju

Writer

Srihita Madiraju is a Junior at Leland High School and a staff writer. She enjoys reading and writing and this is her first year in journalism. She enjoys dancing, going to the beach, and hanging out with her friends.

Wei Wang

Photographer

Wei is part of the photographer and media team. This is his first year in journalism. He enjoys competing in cross country and track and field events. He also likes to spend his weekends taking photos and editing them in Photoshop, as well as being a foodie.