The foothills have a bunch of novice scientists in their midst.

Judges who spent hours on March 10 looking at science fair projects said they were impressed with the scientific method students used in their projects entered in the Mountain Area Science and Engineering Fair.

Nearly 100 projects from six elementary schools were displayed in the Marshdale Elementary School gymnasium March 10-11 for judging and viewing by students, families and the community.

The foothills schools are the only schools in Jefferson County who have a second level for a science fair thanks to Ginger Dickinson, the mountain event’s organizer. This year, Marshdale, The Bergens, Wilmot, Parmalee, West Jeff Elementary and Evergreen Country Day School participated.

Students won their school science fairs before competing in the mountain area fair.

The task is to devise a question and use the scientific method to answer it. The young scientists create a hypothesis, research the question, create an experiment to test the hypothesis and explain their results and conclusions. They also are judged on how well their presentations are presented and their creativity.

And creative they were. Students created projects in a host of science and engineering areas from botany, zoology and structures to chemistry, health and physics. They learned about how climate change affects plants, which herbs grow fastest, how high a baking soda rocket flies as more vinegar is added, what would happen if a jacket was made out of blubber, what happens to a person’s blood-oxygen level as the altitude increases, which nail polish dries the fastest and more.

There were projects for everyone to learn from, and the judges saw that, too.

Christy Herron, a nurse who moved to Evergreen from Indiana on March 1, said judging the projects brought back memories of other science fairs she participated in, and she loved helping out in her new community.

“I love learning,” she said as she moved from project to project, reading the documentation and looking at the graphs explaining the findings.

Frank Turina, who retired from the National Park Service, said the projects were interesting.

“They really gave the research, design, data and conclusions some thought,” he said. “For elementary school level projects, they are very impressive.”

Elizabeth Braddock said she was looking for students not just to follow the scientific process but to use some creativity in their topic choice and information presentation.

“Honestly,” Braddock said, “I enjoy all of the projects.”