MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) – Each year, students from around the area flock to MSU Mankato to show off their drive and ingenuity.
Months of research and prep go into each project, and it’s an experience that many carry with them for the rest of their lives, even coming back years later to volunteer their time and experience for.
“As someone who was always passionate about science, for me there was no truer form of science than the science fair itself,” volunteer Tim Guldan said. Guldan participated in the fair when he was a student. “It’s a way to ask a question about something you genuinely care about and try to find an answer to something you’d like to know more about, and in a perfect world use that to help others.”
Everything isn’t all fun and games, however. Each project is carefully examined by a panel of judges, and the day ends with awards and prizes ranging from books to sizable cash prizes.
The grand champion wins an expense-free trip to Arizona to participate in the national fair.
This year’s winner was Jasmine Fleming, a junior from Lake Crystal. This was her third year participating in the fair, starting off from a simple science class project.
Her project turning banana peels into filters for water-dyes is now sending her around the country.
“When I started my freshman year, I did not think I would make it this far,” Fleming said. “I wanted to keep going every year until my senior year, which is next year, but I did not think that I would make it to ISEF because my freshman year I saw one of the kids from our school make it to ISEF. I thought that was really cool but I never thought that I would be able to do it.”
Click here to download the KEYC News Now app or our KEYC First Alert weather app.
Copyright 2026 KEYC. All rights reserved.