Yesterday, I participated in the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair for the first time. I’ve always known what a science fair was, but I never got the opportunity to participate in one. I’m grateful that I did, though, because I gained experience, learned a lot, and figured out what improvements I should make to be more successful.
Beginning the Project
When I first got the email about the science fair, I knew I had to participate. My favorite type of science is biology, proven with my 4th grade independent study project on genetics. I listed many topics that I felt were interesting enough to be make into a project. I consulted my friend to participate along with me, and she agreed.
My friend was passionate about biology too. When we started coming up with ideas together, she wanted to do Huntington’s or Alzheimer’s, and I agreed. But a while later, I realized that, while diseases were interesting, it wasn’t exactly my favorite type of science. To begin with, I personally wanted a topic that could be solved someway. Call me unrealistic, but I just wanted to try and make an impact. Second, these diseases aren’t the most common in the US, so I couldn’t exactly relate to those ideas.
Then, one day, I was watching Stranger Things on Netflix, but the thrill was interrupted by an advertisement. “O-o-o-Ozempic…Join the over 7 million adults, like Michael, who’ve taken Ozempic…”. I jumped up from the reclined sofa. I knew that weight loss drugs was the perfect topic. Obesity is the leading disease in America, and so many people are unaware of the impacts of weight loss drugs. When I told my partner, I could tell that she wasn’t as passionate about the topic as me, but she said yes. But if she didn’t want to do this topic, I wouldn’t force her to. I then told her I wanted to work independently, but I would later realize that this would be a great blunder.
Studying
For this project, I organized it by creating 3 independent hypothesizes about obesity drugs. 1. All health categories experience the same effects to the drug. 2. GLP-1 is the best solution to obesity. 3. There is no long term dependency on the drug. I gathered data for all of them, and drew conclusions. They all turned out to be null. I also included extra information about GLP-1 (main hormone in these drugs) and about each type (liraglutide, exenatide, dulaglutide, etc.).
About a week before the fair, I decided that a board wasn’t enough; I had to actually make something that contributes to the field. So, I decided to create a prototype of an app that can help patients and doctors manage their health, dispense the proper dosage of the drug, and connect to devices such as a continuous glucose monitor, health apps, and Oura ring. This would support my final conclusion that obesity doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all solution.
To create my app, I first used Chat-GPT to create the python code for the app. It took such a long time to download the necessary applications, let alone understand what the AI wanted me to do. In the end, the app was a complete flop. The background was white, and so were the words! It didn’t even generate the patient a guide; it just rewrote all the information they inputted!
When I went back to edit the app, I accidently opened Gemini instead of Chat-GPT. On the home page was a new feature that uses AI to create web apps. Because of my obvious desperation, I tried it. I inputted the same information I told Chat-GPT, and the app was amazing, The results were great too. I edited it more, and it turned out very presentable. This was only a prototype.
The Fair Experience
The fair was held at Fair Park, Dallas. Fair Park is a historical town, with stadiums, theaters, and convention centers all in one area. It’s very beautiful. When I entered the Automobile Building, it was very crowded with students from 6th to 12th grade, There were a thousand projects there. There were many scientific and engineering categories, and only one student from each division (junior and senior) would compete for the Grand Prize.
i had 2 people interview me. The first one was happy and ask me a lot of questions about my project. She asked about my app, and I didn’t want to mention that I used AI, because it could probably take my points away. She figured it out though, but it was fine. My second interviewer was just reading my project for a while. I explained some of it, too. I was waiting for a 3rd interview to attempt again, but time ran out.
Areas of Improvement
There are definitely a lot of things I could’ve done better and that I will take in to account next year.
- Teams are good ideas. Everyone is good at something and can bring something I didn’t think of to the table. Even in the future, I will be forced to work with other people. It’s best to gain teamwork skills as early as possible.
- Focus on only ONE hypothesis. I should’ve spent my time going in depth on one topic than have 3 unrelated ones.
- Work on the impact more. I could’ve developed my app earlier and made it better.
- Do experiments myself. Even though I couldn’t exactly experiment in my topic, I could’ve at least used a simulation. This shows the judges that you actually understood the why instead of simply relying on pre-existing data.
- Start earlier! This applies to everything. Good things come with time.
Even though I didn’t win, I’m glad I gained knowledge about obesity drugs, gained presenting skills, and am more prepared for next year. One tip I would give to everyone is to never be afraid of trying new things, even if you are sure you won’t succeed. Make the most of life; you have limited opportunities. Every experience makes you wiser.