CSEF projects, 2002–2026

Every California Science & Engineering Fair project Fairfolio holds: 17,387 entries across 24 years, with the abstract, category and awards the fair published for each one.

CSEF coverage: available historical abstracts for 2002–2019; award-listed projects only for 2021–2025, without abstracts and with explicit labels where titles were not published, except that most 2023 winners carry the abstract from CSEF's archived public showcase; public showcase abstracts for 2026. The 2020 fair was canceled.

Years

Category breakdown

Counts cover every year of this fair and use its own category labels, exactly as the source published them. Each one links to that category's CSEF projects.

Projects

17387 projects · showing 15961–15990

CSEF · 2003

Fishy Vision

Physics & Astronomy

Objectives/Goals My objective is to determine if the type of water -- fresh water, ocean water, and pool water -- affects refraction in a way noticable to the human eye. I believe that ocean…

CSEF · 2003

Flaming Fabrics: Which Material Burns Fastest?

Materials Science (Junior Division Only)

Objectives/Goals My project is an experiment to see how quickly different materials burn and how they burn. Methods/Materials After doing research I found eleven different types of fabrics.…

CSEF · 2003

Flamingly Good: Fire Ecology

Plant Biology

Objectives/Goals An experiment was set up to test the effect of burned soil on seed germination. Soil samples were collected from five sites, each one varying in burn history. The most recen…

CSEF · 2003

Float O' Fall? An Experiment Designed to Test the Drag Coefficients of Single and Clustered Parachutes

Aerodynamics/ Hydrodynamics

Objectives/Goals The purpose is to test the drag coefficient of one parachute and then compare it to the drag coefficient of clustered parachutes. We wanted to start out with one parachute a…

CSEF · 2003

Flow Factor

Mammalian Biology

Objectives/Goals The object of my project was to learn whether or not the length and diameter of an artery had an affect on the flow of fluid through it. My goals were to time the flow of di…

CSEF · 2003

Flying Factors: The Study of Women in Aviation and the General Flying Capabilities of Males vs. Females

Behavioral Sciences

Objectives/Goals As students of a school located on an Air Force base as prestigious as ours, catching a glimpse of military pilots numerous times a day is common. After visiting NASA for th…

CSEF · 2003

Fog Drip

Earth Sciences/ Planetary Sciences/ Physical Environments

Objectives/Goals The objective was to find out how much water a Douglas fir tree can pull from fog and turn to drip during the coastal fog season. Methods/Materials For seven months I measur…

CSEF · 2003

Folate-Yeast Project: A Novel Solution to the World's Malnutrition Problem

Microbiology

Objectives/Goals The objective is to develop a strain of yeast high in folate through a process of selective mutation. Methods/Materials SAF yeast was streaked onto PDA media. A folate analo…

CSEF · 2003

Fooling Mother Nature

Plant Biology

Objectives/Goals My objective is to utilize cuttings from various fruit trees and grafting them to root stocks to bring them out of the dormant stage with the use of artificial light and hom…

CSEF · 2003

From Here to Maine: Is Tap Water All the Same?

Chemistry

Objectives/Goals I wanted to determine if the quality of tap water across the United States varied. My hypothesis was that there will not be any difference in the tap water quality throughou…

CSEF · 2003

Fungal Prevention and the Light Spectrum

Pharmacology/ Toxicology

Objectives/Goals The Objective of this experiment is to discover if the growth of fungus can be retarded following to exposure to various colors of light. Methods/Materials The medium, bread…

CSEF · 2003

Fungi: From Sneezing to Wheezing

Microbiology

Objectives/Goals To determine how fungal allergens form respirable aerosols by: investigating whether fungal cultures release respirable-sized allergens, examining the conditions that lead t…

CSEF · 2003

Furious Feeding Frenzy: Developing a Feeding Protocol for Lytechinus pictus

Zoology

Objectives/Goals We used the species Lytechinus pictus in an attempt to develop a feeding protocol employing the algae Tahitian blend that will enable the developing urchin to survive throug…

CSEF · 2003

Game Theory: Which Chess Move in Response to White's 1. e4 Maximizes Black's Outcome?

Mathematics & Software

Objectives/Goals This project relates to a branch of science known as "combinatorial game theory." The objective of this experiment was to test my hypothesis: If e5 (pawn to king five) is pl…

CSEF · 2003

Gas Stations vs. Soil

Environmental Science (Junior Division Only)

Objectives/Goals My objective was to determine whether gas stations affect the soil around them by comparing the dominant types of soil microbes, as well as the pH level of soil samples, fro…

CSEF · 2003

Generic Ink vs. Name Brand Ink: Do You Get What You Pay For?

Materials Science (Junior Division Only)

Objectives/Goals I wanted to see if the results using name brand ink justified the additional cost compared with results using less expensive generic ink. Methods/Materials In order to compa…

CSEF · 2003

Genetics or Coincidence? The Secret of the Unique Fingerprint

Mammalian Biology

Objectives/Goals The purpose of my science project was to determine whether or not fingerprint patterns were a genetic inheritance and also to determine which types are the most common in hu…

CSEF · 2003

Geometrical Representations of the 24th Order Permutation Group

Mathematics & Software

Objectives/Goals The objective of this study was to determine if the 24th order permutation group can be represented by geometrical symmetry operations of rotation and reflection. A group is…

CSEF · 2003

Germination Simulation

Plant Biology

Objectives/Goals My objective is to determine the effects of artificial gravity, ultraviolet light, and magnetic field on seed germination and the growth of the root. I believe that artifici…

CSEF · 2003

Germs, Infection, Bacteria! Oh My!

Microbiology

Objectives/Goals To determine if liquid Colloidal Silver would kill bacteria found on your hands. Methods/Materials Using 27 human subjects, I had each individual wipe their fingers on agar…

CSEF · 2003

Global Warming: Can Bacteria Really Help Stop It?

Microbiology

Objectives/Goals The objectives were to find optimal conditions for nitogen-fixation in the oceanic cyanobacteria Trichodesmium, with respect to irradiance and to determine if phosphorous is…

CSEF · 2003

Glucose as a Teratogen Affecting Cranial Neural Crest Migration in the Developing Chick Embryo

Pharmacology/ Toxicology

Objectives/Goals Since infants of diabetic mothers are five times as likely as the normal population to be born with a birth defect, this project aims to determine if glucose itself plays a…

CSEF · 2003

Gold Medal Finish

Materials Science (Junior Division Only)

Objectives/Goals My project was to determine which of the swimsuit material types would be the fastest in competition. I believe that a material sample that is light, clingy, and stretchy wi…

CSEF · 2003

Golf Balls in Motion

Applied Mechanics/ Structures & Mechanisms/ Manufacturing

Objectives/Goals To determine the mechanical design and performance characteristics of six different golf balls after they have been applied to uniform wear or use. Methods/Materials All bal…

CSEF · 2003

Goodness Gracious Great Gobs of Algae

Pharmacology/ Toxicology

Objectives/Goals To discover if phosphates affect the growth of algae. Methods/Materials I grew algae in several jars containing water taken from a local lake each with a different concentra…

CSEF · 2003

Got Taste? Heredity and PTC

Mammalian Biology

Objectives/Goals The objective is to see if the ability to taste PTC (phenylthiocarbamide)is due to a dominant or a recessive gene, if it is linked to race and if it is sex-linked. Methods/M…

CSEF · 2003

Gotta' Sweet Tooth: Does Microbial Fermentation Produce Acid in the Mouth with Aspartame and Various Sugars?

Chemistry

Objectives/Goals The objective of my project was: does microbial fermentation produce acid in the mouth with the artificial sweetener (Aspartame) and various sugars? I thought that the micro…

CSEF · 2003

Got Vitamin C? Determining the Relative Amount of Vitamin C in Preserved Fruits using Titration

Chemistry

Objectives/Goals My objective is to find which method of food preservation retains the most vitamin C content in kiwis and oranges using the titration method. Methods/Materials Nine of the s…

CSEF · 2003

Got Water?

Environmental Science (Junior Division Only)

Objectives/Goals The purpose of my project was to test the quality of water in terms of microbial count from different water sources in different cities of the Bay Area. These sources includ…

CSEF · 2003

Gray Water/ Sod Growth

Plant Biology

Objectives/Goals One of the main problems today is that people are running short on water. I have the answer for you; it is called gray water recycling. My project is the affects of gray wat…