Copperopolis Elementary 5th grader Hailee Gunter takes home a 3rd place win at the Calaveras County Science fair held on March 15, 2013 at Mountain Oaks School.
Over 60 science experiments were entered and 6 elementary schools participated.
Hailee, who placed 3rd at the Copperopolis Elementary Science Fair, was surprised and shocked that she placed 3rd in the county for the 5th grade level. "I was shocked when they called my name, my mom and dad were yelling really loud 'yeah Hailee.' I thought for sure the other two kids from Copper were going to place 1st and 2nd before me."
"I wanted to do a science experiment that had to do with animals." So after researching her project online she found one that looked interesting. She modified it, changed quite a few things and created her own 'bird attractions' science experiment, discovering that birds preferred the "more camouflaged bird feeders instead of the red, blue and white ones."
When it came time for judging Hailee said she was very nervous. "There were two, a man and a woman. They asked me lots of questions." Hailee says she was so comfortable with her experiment that she was able to answer all their questions easily. But when they wrote down everything she said on a clipboard she began to get a bit nervous.
The science experiment took over 15 days as Hailee had to complete three different trials to verify her results.
The most difficult part "was counting all the birds."
The most fun "was putting together the poster board."
Hailee's favorite subject is social science. "I like knowing about history." Her hobbies are volleyball and playing catch with her younger brother Wyatt.
Hailee is considering entering the school science fair again next year even though it is not required of 6th graders.
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