LIHUE — Tyler Fernandez, a player with the Kauai High School basketball team, was not on the bus for Waimea Friday afternoon. Instead, the guard’s No. 14 jersey was replaced by a crisp, freshly ironed shirt and he sat quietly,
LIHUE — Tyler Fernandez, a player with the Kauai High School basketball team, was not on the bus for Waimea Friday afternoon.
Instead, the guard’s No. 14 jersey was replaced by a crisp, freshly ironed shirt and he sat quietly, eager to talk to people at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall.
“I told him this was important,” said Sean Andrade, a Kauai basketball coach, while watching the rest of his players go through warmups in Waimea.
But in Lihue, Fernandez represented one of more than 50 science projects on display for the Kauai District Regional Science and Engineering Fair hosted by the Kauai office of the Department of Education.
And the hoopster appeared just as comfortable around thermostats and beakers as he does passing the ball or reading defenses.
“I just thought I could add to the mix of thermal and solar as alternate sources of energy,” Fernandez said, pointing out his display — A Seach for Energy: Mud Power. “The bacteria which is in the mud actually create the energy. I added things like more leaves and lemon juice to see the effect it would have on the energy output.”
His basketball team went on to win 62-42, while Fernandez finished 10th out of nearly 60 displays — not a bad couple of finishes at all.
The annual school event features the most creative science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) projects from students all over the island. This year, just like in years past, the students wowed the judges, comprised of professionals from across the island.
Julia Hirano, a student at Waimea High School, earned top honors in the senior division for her “Thermal Energy Storage.”
The presentation also earned her top honors for the Alexander and Baldwin Renewable Energy Specialty Awards which had a $100 cash award accompanying it.
“Our teacher, Terri Cocanougher, told us to either select a World-based, or Hawaii-based problem for our project,” Hirano, a top winner at last year’s show, said. “Hawaii is No. 1 in the highest electric bills, and since the sun produces energy, what happens when there is no sun? How can we store the energy which is produced so we can use it when there is no sun?”
Kayla Ishida, another Waimea student, finished second for “The Relationship Between Sunsport Characteristics and Solar Flare Activity.”
Lianne Tanaka, a Kauai student, filled in the No. 3 spot with “Detergent Gray Water,” followed by Kasey Emoto, another Kauai student, getting fourth place for “Is Tricolosan a Trick?”
“I always wondered about why some people buy one item over another,” Emoto, a sophomore, said. “This was something I thought about from when I was small so it was fun doing this project.”
• Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
