Fifty students from sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grades competed in the 35th Annual Science Fair at Tallmadge Middle School April 10,

"Projects from various genres of science adorned the gym and delighted proud parents and onlookers as they observed the many varied projects," said Carol Arbour, who coordinated this year's fair. Arbour is a retired TMS teacher.

PTA sponsored a special award presented to Nina Di Salvo, Shawn Mercer and Paige Schertzinger, recognized for having participated in the Science Fair each of the three years they have been at TMS.

Best of Show awards were presented in five categories. This year's winners are:

* Eighth-graders Joe Labosky and Eric Lann won "Best Engineering Project." The duo built a potato cannon and experimented with different fuels to see which one would project the farthest.

* Eighth-grader Paige Schertzinger won "Best Psychology Project" for her project on the "Stroop Effect" which looked at how different colored words with different colored backgrounds were perceived.

* Sixth-grader Austin Phillips won "Best Physics Project." Prompted by his concern for the environment and the pollution produced by discarded batteries, Phillips sought to make a flashlight without batteries, using magnets and more coils of wire. He compared his invention to a battery-powered flashlight for efficiency and brightness.

* Seventh-grader Christa Wilk won "Best Biochemistry Project" for her project which looked into how color affects the perception of taste. In one instance, Wilk took a grape-flavored lollipop and colored it orange to determine if the taster would perceive it as "grape" or "orange."

* Sixth-graders Julie Lahtonen and Kelly Steurer won "Best Physiology Project" for their project which wondered which colored sucker lasted the longest or observed if there was a difference at all.

Best of Show winners received engraved trophies, Best of Show rosette ribbons and gift certificates to Best Buy.

Other students participating in the Science Fair were :

* Sixth-graders: Katelyn Skaggs, David Bartlett, Natalie Blatt, Katie Hegedus, Bailey Choma, Joanna Krukemeyer, Kayla McGuinness, Valerie Kramer, Chris Hershberger, Aaron Allebach, Alexandra Cwikla, Chelsea Caesar, A.J. Fagerlin, Dustin Raleigh, Brandon Brashier, Sarah Eckmeyer, Marissa Wormenhaven, Kes Speelman, Madison Stock, Katelyn Fox, Allie Calvin, Ceanna McNeal, Mariah Priest, Logan Ray, Donovan Manning, Caitlyn Horak, Jordan Ruiz, Colton Tomaiko, Bobby Powell, Tiffany Eisemon and Kendra Whitaker.

* Seventh-graders: Alec White, Derek Sibit, Andy Manka, Eric Curley, Jordan Sweet, Loretta Jenkins and Shawn Mack.

* Eighth-graders: Kaitlin Caesar, Nina DiSalvo, Jacob Pander, Shawn Mercer and Jessica Isom

All participants were treated to a pizza party to celebrate their efforts.