School: Montessori Academy of Cincinnati

Student: Jake Allen

Teacher: Leah Suer and Anne Slamkowski

Grade: 6th

Subject: Biology

Description: I decided to do a biology project because ever since I was little I loved life and science. I looked at three organisms or parts of organisms and made a diagram, a key, and wrote their scientific name and some facts about them. I made sketches of these organisms to improve my art skills. This took a long time, so I hope all of my hard work pays off. I first looked at onion skin, which is something a beginner should look at through their microscope. They have large cells, so they are easy to notice and classify. Next, I looked at a worker bee leg, which I would recommend to someone who is experienced with microscopes and biology. Finally, I looked at water mold through my microscope which I gathered from my fish tank. Water mold is a microscopic protist, so you can only see it using a microscope. This is something I would recommend to the professionals, because water mold is very small and difficult to classify. Overall, I think this was a great project, and I hope it inspires other kids in the future, whether I win this contest or not.