Congratulations to all our budding scientists who participated in the NIWA Science Fair, and a special congratulations to Mira Deyab receiving a “Highly Commended Award’ for her entry on Topology.

The day finally arrived when I had the opportunity to showcase my project at the annual NIWA Science Fair. My project was titled "Sanitise then Analyse." I was excited and nervous because Eliza and I had worked really hard on our project and we wanted to do well.

Early in the morning, we arrived at the fair. Mr Miller had set up the day before. My job now was to stand and wait for the judges to view, observe, and ask questions about my project. While waiting I was a little bored. Eliza and I were nervous that we would not get judged because we were pretty much last.

When the judges finally arrived we were relieved and acted like we knew everything. It was hard to talk and I was stumbling over my words even though I had practised. I wanted to present well in front of the judges and do well. I had a lot of adrenaline. We showed the judge the board and explained what we did for our project. We had a book of all the sanitizers and what they did. We had a sample of the best sanitiser (Health Basics) and offered it to the judge. They politely declined.

In my presentation, I highlighted real-world applications of sanitising. We talked the judge through our method of putting sanitiser on our hands then wiping it on bread and growing bacteria and mould. We found that the sanitiser with the least amount of alcohol did the worst and the sanitiser with the most amount of alcohol did the best. We had proved our hypothesis correct.

As the day came to a close, I felt a big weight off of my shoulders. I had spent so long on it and it was good to have finally finished. I felt proud that I had been a part of the Science Fair. Participating in the science fair was an incredible experience and I felt privileged to be a part of it.

The science fair was not just about winning awards but also about sharing knowledge and inspiring others to explore the exciting world of science and technology. I left the fair with a sense of fulfilment, knowing that I had contributed to the promotion of science in my community.