For decades, many young scientists such as 17-year-old W.B. Ray High School student Sharmada Palakurthi, make their way down to the Coastal Bend Regional Science Fair to show off the projects they’re working on.
“It's exciting because you get to see people your own age do things and it really inspires you to continue,” she said when talking about the fair.
Beginning in elementary school, Sharmada began her journey into science when she decided to try the oldest experiment in the book.
“The first experiment I ever did was seven years old in the first grade. I was examining how oil and water wouldn’t mix,” she said jokingly.
Years later, her love for science has grown exponentially. Her growth in the subject has allowed her to win and place in fairs across the country, discover solutions for issues such as nicotine addiction and find her calling in Neuroscience, where she was encouraged by others at this event.
“Science is such a vast concept, idea and subject that there really is a place in it for anyone that has any interest," she said.
From numerous types of science studies and 11 counties of students competing in the event, the fair is getting record numbers of the youth that want to give science a shot.
“So we feel that since my time here, anyway, this is a record attendance reaching almost 700 children and probably about 600 projects," Dr. Debra Plowman, TAMU-CC associate professor and director of the Coastal Bend Regional Science fair
Now over 30 years in existence, the fair will look to get more youth to enter in the future. Even Sharmada wants to encourage young scientists to keep experimenting.
“For anybody who is trying to this and hasn’t really found their specific part, I would say keep looking," she said. "Keep trying to find your niche and I think it’ll be out there."
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