Morgan County Schools sent 19 students and their projects to the 2026 West Virginia Region 8 Science and Engineering Fair at Ranson Civic Center on Thursday, February 5.
Students competed with students from seven surrounding counties along with homeschool and virtual school students.
Morgan County students brought home several medals from the regional competition.
Eight students received first place and will take their projects to the West Virginia Science and Engineering Fair (WVSEF) at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center in Charleston, West Virginia on March 9.
Morgan County winners in each division and category are:
Division I—Elementary
Animal Science
First Place – Caroline Andrews – Warm Springs Intermediate School – Whitetail Deer: Choice of Food
Chemistry
First Place – Waylon Smith – Warm Springs Intermediate School – What Does Acidity Do?
Earth & Environmental Sciences
First Place – Tasha Ginevan – Paw Paw Elementary– Egglam’s Best
Energy
Third Place – Avalynn Grizzel – Warm Springs Intermediate School – Lemon Lime Light
Medical Sciences
First Place – Harper Thompson – Warm Springs Intermediate School – Glow Down, Show Down: The Clean Hands Challenge
Plant Science
First Place – Nathan Close – Warm Springs Intermediate School — Phototropism: aMAZE of Light
Division II—Middle
Chemistry
Third Place – Makenzie Topp – Warm Springs Middle School
Engineering
Third Place – McKenna Smoot – Warm Springs Middle School
Mathematics and Data
Third Place – Bowen Chen – Warm Springs Middle School – Case of the Missing Cream
Medical Sciences
Third Place – Chloe Wills – Warm Springs Middle School – Family Dactylograms
Physics and Astronomy
First Place – Caden McCumbee – Warm Springs Middle School – What is the Stealthiest 3D Shape?
Plant Science
Third Place – Stella Close – Warm Springs Middle School – Lighting in all Colors
Technology
Third Place – Xander Davis – Warm Springs Middle School – The Freight Escape
Division III—High
Plant Sciences
First Place – Abigail Close – Berkeley Springs High School – The Dirt on Marigolds
Translational Medical Sciences
First Place – Joselyn Smith – Paw Paw High School – Can AI Crack Cancer’s Code
