The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Two Big Sandy area students won prizes from the Montana Energy Education Council for their energy related science fair project entered in the 2016 Montana State Science Fair held recently at the University of Montana. Gabriella Blatt and Madison Reichelt won the Division I First Place award for their project entitled "The Feasibility of Dendroctorus Infested Pinus Ponderosa as a Source of Biomass in Bio-oil Production. Both students are seniors this year at Big Sandy High School.

Each year the Montana Energy Education Council sponsors the energy category of competition at the Montana State Science Fair by providing awards for those outstanding science fair projects that demonstrate an energy or energy conservation concept. These cash prizes awarded by the Council are underwritten by the NorthWestern Energy Corporation. According to Norman Jacobson, MEEC's science fair coordinator, "we usually think of a science project as learning just science. However, participation in the science fair also provides the students with opportunities to improve their leadership, public speaking, and communication skills.".

The Montana Energy Education Council, a non-profit educational organization, has been involved in the fair for the past thirty-one years. The council also provides energy-related workshops and curriculum materials for teachers and sponsors the annual Montana Energy Calendar poster contest.