Students across Flowing Wells Unified School District earned top honors at the 2026 Southern Arizona Research, Science, and Engineering Foundation Fair, also known as SARSEF.
Students from preschool through high school presented projects that explored real-world questions in engineering, biology, environmental science, and physics. Their work showed creativity, problem solving, and strong scientific thinking.
In total, 24 Flowing Wells students received awards, including first, second, and third place medals, along with several special awards from community and industry partners.
Emily Meschter Early Learning Center also earned the SARSEF Top Preschool Award, recognizing the outstanding science learning and inquiry happening with our youngest students.
Projects explored topics such as water harvesting systems, invasive plant solutions, microbial fuel cells, forensic science, engineering design, and environmental protection.
Several students also earned special recognition awards, including the Naval Science Award, the Betty Pflibsen Memorial Award, the TEP Award of Excellence, the Ricoh Sustainable Development Award, and the Tohono Chul Desert Explorer Award.
These achievements highlight the strong science learning happening across Flowing Wells classrooms and the dedication of students and teachers who support hands on inquiry and research.
A complete list of Flowing Wells winners appears in the table below. Congratulations to all of our SARSEF participants for representing Flowing Wells with excellence.
Emily Meschter Early Learning Center
Winner Names | Title | Grand Award | Sponsored Awards | Top Awards | Exhibit Hall Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Itzelt Estudillo-Martinez's class | Ready, Set, Slide! A Group Speed Study. | Second Place | |||
Jennifer Russell’s class | Bubbles, BUBBLES Everywhere! | First Place | https://virtualfair.sarsef.org/2026/bubbles-bubbles-everywhere/ | ||
Jessica Caramella/ Laura Herman’s class | Let the Good Times Roll! A Preschool Study of Cars, Inclines and Distance | Third Place | |||
Jessica Jankowski Gallo’s class | Snuggly In A Nest. A Young Child and their Environment Study. | Second Place |
Centennial Elementary School
Winner Names | Title | Grand Award | Sponsored Awards | Top Awards | Exhibit Hall Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jacob Perez | Construction Site Protection Shield | SARSEF Board Award | https://virtualfair.sarsef.org/2026/construction-site-protection-shield/ | ||
Julia Sample | Potato Light Bulb | SARSEF Board Award |
Homer Davis Elementary School
Winner Names | Title | Grand Award | Sponsored Awards | Top Awards | Exhibit Hall Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Charlene Andrade | Trash Trap | Naval Science Award | |||
Danielle VanDerlaske’s class | Dragon Breathing | First Place | |||
Juanita Aviles, Arlet Gallego | The Nopal Cutter Three Thousand | Honorable Mention | https://virtualfair.sarsef.org/2026/the-nopal-cutter-three-thousand/ | ||
Samantha Jatzcak’s class | The Great Pumpkin Decay Race | Third Place | https://virtualfair.sarsef.org/2026/the-great-pumpkin-decay-race/ |
Hendricks Elementary School
Winner Names | Title | Grand Award | Sponsored Awards | Top Awards | Exhibit Hall Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nathan Schiess, AJ Quiroga | Chicken Pooper Scooper | First Place | |||
Nicholas Gutierrez | Particle Pop Party | Second Place | |||
Vanessa Schiess’s class | Water Harvesting Playscape | First Place | Tohono Chul Desert Explorer Award, Innovation in Engagement | https://virtualfair.sarsef.org/2026/water-harvesting-playscape/ |
Laguna Elementary School
Winner Names | Title | Grand Award | Sponsored Awards | Top Awards | Exhibit Hall Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kaitlyn Oquendo’s class | Cookie Chemistry! | Second Place | |||
Leah Kay’s class | Levee Design Challange | Second Place | |||
Sarah Renteria, Daniela Delgado | Invasive Plant Seed Catcher | Third Place | https://virtualfair.sarsef.org/2026/invasive-plant-seed-catcher/ |
Richardson Elementary School
Winner Names | Title | Grand Award | Sponsored Awards | Top Awards | Exhibit Hall Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Callie Cass | The IV Buddy | Second Place | Betty Pflibsen Memorial Award | ||
Maya Rascon Siller | Brilliant Brush for 3 Pets | Animal Kingdom Excellence Award | https://virtualfair.sarsef.org/2026/brilliant-brush-for-3-pets/ | ||
Shameer Jackson | The Scrubby Hand Test | Third Place | |||
Walter Runge | Trash Collector | Dave and Buster’s Celebration Award, The Janine Malkin Award |
Flowing Wells High School
Winner Names | Title | Grand Award | Sponsored Awards | Top Awards | Exhibit Hall Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arianna Cardenas | Forensic Blood Spatter | Outstanding Use of the Metric System | |||
Camila Ayala Vega | Glowing E. coli | Family Fun Pack | |||
Jazmin Cruz Cruz, Beder Burgueno, Zedan Lozoya | Methylotrophic Bacteria | Second Place | https://virtualfair.sarsef.org/2026/methylotrophic-bacteria/ | ||
John Vitolas | Microbial Fuel Cell Efficiency with Commonly Abundant Bacteria | TEP Award of Excellence, Ricoh Sustainable Development Award | https://virtualfair.sarsef.org/2026/microbial-fuel-cell-efficiency-with-commonly-abundant-bacteria/ |