We’re in a packed building in Camarillo with young minds who are trying to tackle some of the problems we face in the world today.
"I made a usable biofuel out of the oils that algae contains," said Chase Loomis of Ventura.
He's looking at how we might be able to use algae to create environmentally friendly fuels.
"I basically just extracted the oil from the algae and then went into a lab and combined it with different chemicals, and burned the biofuel I had produced, and tested the efficiency. One of the main reasons I wanted to do it is it could definitely be a clean alternative."
It’s an interesting idea, especially for someone who isn’t a researcher, and in fact, isn’t even out of high school. Loomis is a sophomore at Ventura High School who’s one of hundreds of participants in the 2025 Ventura County Science Fair.
"We have a mix of students from throughout Ventura County. We have over 650 students here today and close to 500 projects," said Jennifer Gorin, who is the Students Competitions Coordinator for the Ventura County Office of Education.
She said the projects challenge students to expand their knowledge through research and experimentation.
"We have 23 categories that cover everything from behavioral health and social sciences to plant biology, to chemistry and aerodynamics, and mathematical sciences," said Gorin. "The list goes on."
As you wander around the conference rooms at the Ventura County Office of Education, you see exhibits for projects with titles like “The relationship between sleep and athletic and academic performance” and “How does the PH of the ocean change depending on different variables?”
Harmony Walters and Evate Varamirez of Rio Mesa High School teamed up to look at a question which impacts people who have lactose problems with dairy products.
"It's about enzymes in lactase powder which is added to milk for lactose intolerant people," said Walters. "When you add it, it helps break down the complex sugar into simple sugar. Lactase powder works best at an optimal temperature. So, this experiment was us, going through, and finding what temperature functions best."
"It's like a real-world problem," said Varamirez. "Drinking milk at a certain temperature will help people digest that milk better."
In another part of the science fair, there are a number of electronics-related projects.
Hendrick Lowder of Ventura High School is trying to get notes on an electric guitar to trigger LED lights and create a light show.
"I spent a lot of effort getting ready. There was a lot of trial and error on the project," said Lowder.
While it didn’t work as he had hoped, he said he thinks the concept is sound.
"On the guitar, there are these pickups and they produce this trace amount of charge," Lowder explained. "I was hoping I could somehow amplify that charge before it goes into an LED, and depending on the note or decibel, it would play that color."
It didn't work as he'd hoped, but some of the notes did turn on LED lights. "I learned a lot," said Lowder.
Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Cesar Morales said it’s exciting to see students excited about participating and putting their skills in everything from math and science to grammar to work.
"This is amazing," said Morales. "This is an opportunity for our students to demonstrate their passion for science, their creativity, innovation, and networking. It's a joy to see these students from different school districts, and different schools be fans of each other's work."
Some of the top projects from this year’s science fair will go onto the state science fair, which for the first time in its history will be held in Ventura County coming up in April.
