Some of Morgan Hills brightest young minds were under the same roof Thursday evening displaying their projects to family, friends, classmates, public officials, elected board members and business owners at the fifth annual citywide science fair held inside the Oakwood School gymnasium.

They seem to get smarter every year, said Morgan Hill City Councilwoman Marilyn Librers, who co-chairs the science fair committee of the Chamber of Commerce, which organized the Jan. 15 event. This is by far the most successful one weve had.

This year, 130 high school and middle school student projects broken into four categories (behavioral science, chemistry, biology and physics/engineering) were judged by a panel of community members, including microbiologist Mike Cox, founder of Anaerobe Systems in Morgan Hill.

First, second and third place winners were selected in middle school and high school divisions.

Two of the blue ribbon winners were sisters Roos and Eva Devries, both students at Oakwood.

Were in different categories, said Roos, an 18-year-old senior, dispelling any sibling rivalry between the two. We just did it because we like science.

Roos took top honors in the physics/engineering category with her Development of Straight Line Linkages, in which she analyzed two-dimensional mechanisms throughout history. Her 16-year-old sister Eva bested the chemistry category by introducing and experimenting with the substance ferrofluid, a liquid composed of tiny magnetic particles.

I thought that Roos would win because between the two of us shes more (into) science and math so I was kind of surprised that I won, Eva admitted.

I didnt think that at all, interjected Roos, giving props to her younger sister for her scientific prowess. Im extremely proud of Eva.

Oakwood, a private college preparatory school for preschoolers through 12th grade, had student competitors in the high school and middle school divisions. Morgan Hill Unified School District was represented by its student participants from Britton and Martin Murphy middle schools.

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Experimenting with science