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A Bella Vista Christian Academy student has been ousted from the county science fair because her project used animal blood and fair organizers feared a controversy and protest.
 Michaela Loomis, a student at Bella Vista Christian Academy, shows off her science project that explores which antibiotic best kills a strain of staph bacteria. Her project was disqualified from the fair because her petri dishes used blood agar as a substrate. Glenn Moore / Tracy Press /
It was a stinging blow for 13-year-old Michaela Loomis of the Bella Vista Christian Academy, who was one of nearly 600 of San Joaquin County’s youngest and brightest science buffs in Stockton this week for the county’s 50th annual science fair.
Heather Small, Bella Vista science teacher and one of 38 judges at the fair, said she knew no bodily fluids could be displayed, but there was nothing specifically in the rule book about blood agar, a substance used to grow bacteria that contains nutrients and is typically between 5 and 10 percent animal blood.
Small also said Michaela’s experiment was far above the work of other middle school students and was one of the best in the contest.
In November, each science fair hopeful received a stack of papers to sign and read before they embarked on their months of research and experiments. Michaela remembers thumbing through her pile of fair regulations, but she never spotted a rule about not using blood agar, a product used to grow bacteria.
She received a phone call at about 8 p.m. Wednesday from a representative from the county office of education who regretfully told her that the project was disqualified.
"They told me that if they ran me in the fair, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) would shut it down," Michaela said. "That would hurt more than 500 kids."
Blood agar is often used in medical research to grow bacteria.
Michaela got the idea to use blood agar to quicken bacteria growth from a family friend who works for a medical center in Dublin, where they use blood agar regularly. Michaela’s study was to find which cephalosporin type of antibiotic kills the most bacteria that cause staph infections. In January, she set up petri dishes and tested different types of antibiotics. She noted the results in a journal every day.
 Michaela and her teacher, Heather Small, look over her project's journals. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press
Michaela said she would have used soy agar for the experiment if she had known she’d be disqualified. She even included the ingredients of her project in a proposal in the fall.
"They should’ve seen that as a red flag and double-checked what type of agar I was using," she said.
"It’s a disappointment," Small said. "Science fairs are meant to give students that opportunity to just fly. But it’s hard nowadays with so many organizations that think they’re out to help, but actually get in the way of kids learning."
PETA distributes materials nationwide meant to discourage students and scientists from using blood agar.
"Many of these animals are forced to spend their lives in captivity," said Shalin Gala, senior researcher with PETA. "PETA would not shut down a science fair for using cruel blood agar plates, but we would hope, when presented with an option, that students would use safer plates made of soy or vegetables."
Jacqueline Montelongo, spokeswoman for the county office of education, said the fair follows guidelines set by the California Office of Education.
"We want every project to be a part of the fair, but if one project doesn’t meet the state criteria, all the students would be disqualified," she said. "I know for next year we’re going to be more detailed about what’s not allowed so that this doesn’t happen."
At least she learned something, Michaela said.
The science-savvy girl hypothesized that keflex antibiotics, which are used to fight strep throat and ear infections, would kill the most bacteria. But she found that, in fact, duricef kills the most bacteria.
"I really want to be a doctor when I grow up," she said. "I’m going to save everything I’m doing now. I can write my masters thesis on this."
Students from Jefferson Elementary and Tracy Unified school districts also showed projects at the county fair. Bella Vista sixth-grader Conor Goulart won first place in the science fair’s middle school division for his biology experiment that tested algae. He’ll go on to the state fair in Southern California in May.
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do i smell drama? jealously possibly?