There was an extraordinary turnout of young scientists this year at H. Frank Carey High School's annual Science Fair for students of grades seven, eight and nine. There were many clever and fascinating projects at the fair that were held in both the senior and junior high cafeterias, among them, "Which Carpet Cleaner is the Best?" and "What is the Difference Between Coca-Cola and Pepsi?"

Freshman Theresa Galgano was very impressed with the projects. Here is what she had to say: "There were some very spectacular and original projects on display and I think that everyone put in a lot of effort."

It was very hard for the judges¬among them Carey science teachers Lori Landi, Stephanie Sellers and Matt Hupe¬ to select the finalists who will go to the Long Island Science Congress, where they will compete against hundreds of other students' fantastic projects.

Among the winning efforts were ninth grade winners Michael Troha and Jonathan Brett, with the first place project of renaming a falsely classified type of fish. Abha Saraswat and Ellen Huang won the second place prize with their project of "Does Ginkgo Biloba Affect Memory in Mice?"

At the end of the big fair, science department chairperson Ted Tauber proudly stated that he was, "Very impressed with the quality of the projects."

When asked to simply summarize the fair, freshman Gary Ferrar said. "The projects were great." Indeed they were.

Besides finding science projects at the fair, there were also interesting neckties present. Gerard Williamsen, one of the judges, was wearing a wooden tie. That's right, a wooden tie.

So, in conclusion, a big round of applause should be given to all the talented individuals who participated in the fair and the best of luck to the winners.

Science Fair Winners:

1st place - Thomas Corredine: "The Effect of Household Chemicals on Various Metals"

2nd place - Andrew Lainis: "The Affect of Wind on Sails"

3rd place - Christina Cowan: "Recycling"

1st place - Daniel Hosemann: "What Materials Promote Growth on Artificial Reefs?"

2nd place - Maria Rewiako: "Mother Nature Affects You"

3rd place - Melissa Masaracchia: "How much Garbage Can be Recycled?"

1st place - Jonathan Brett and Mike Troha: "The False Classification of the Damsel Fish."

2nd place - Ellen Huang and Abha Saraswat: "Does Ginko Biloba Affect Memory in Mice?"

3rd place - Andrea Youngfert: "Can Spices Kill Salmonella on Raw Chicken?"