Wyoming students from grades 6-12 gathered here at UW beginning Sunday to compete with their peers in the 2025 Wyoming State Science Fair. The event began Sunday afternoon as competitors checked in and set up their project displays in the Union Ballroom. Students then had an opportunity to present their projects to the public as parents and UW and Laramie community members convened in the union ballroom to learn.
The Science Fair allows Wyoming students an opportunity to engage in STEM research experience, and to learn from professionals, giving them a chance to expand their resources and use their knowledge to help create a better future for everyone.
“This gives students the opportunity to start doing research at such a young age, I mean I personally started when I was in fifth grade. I’ve been doing research ever since and it’s so inspiring,” said Asriyah Islam, a high school senior from Laramie.
The fair featured a variety of project topics, ranging from Wyoming birds to chloroplast immunity. Motivated students enthusiastically shared their process and findings, as well as their favorite parts of the experience. Ethan Kasper, an 8th grade student from Laramie explained his project entitled “Can We Save More Birds,” an experiment that used different kinds of paint applied to a single blade on a wind turbine in order to prevent deadly collisions with birds.
“I’m a huge animal lover, and I did not like thinking about how these birds were being killed by wind turbines,” Kasper said. “So I was thinking, what if I come up with something that can protect these birds?”
Kasper began his research process with the development of a hypothesis and then continued with his own research and experiment. He decided to test out UV paint, as it is invisible to the human eye, but visible to birds, therefore avoiding an eyesore for humans and working to protect the birds.
“My hypothesis was if we paint one blade UV, they’ll be able to see it, therefore avoid it, and therefore decline the amount of bird fatalities,” Kasper said.
The experience was special for Kasper, as he expressed his appreciation for his Mother and Grandfather who helped him through his research and experiment process. He also expressed his pride in the possibility of his project’s influence here in Wyoming, and at different universities.
Fellow student Asriyah Islam shared her research experience with her project entitled “Artificial Intelligence Based Protein Structure Modeling to Understand Chloroplast Immunity.” Islam performed extensive research using artificial intelligence to study the structure of certain proteins involved in chloroplast immunity.
“I hypothesized that AP2C2 and CBP60G will bind and interact with each other and have a different function from what they originally do separately during stromule activity,” Islam said.
The research yielded thrilling results for Islam, as she found that there are many areas within the proteins that are interacting and binding together.
“This is really exciting because we’re one step closer to truly understanding chloroplast immunity, meaning plant immunity, and the better we understand the immunity of these plants, the more we can save our plants and make them healthier for us to consume,” Islam said.
The Wyoming State science fair serves as an open and inviting forum for budding scientists to conduct their own research and share their findings with their peers and mentors. It works to inspire the next generation of scientists and to fuel and support their journey into the professional world.
“These are kids that are going to make a difference in this world, and if we don’t have science fair, then we won’t have opportunities like this,” Islam said. “We want to be able to show the world what our generation can do and what our generation is planning to do in the future.”
