State qualifiers pose with their ribbons last week after the Durango Regional Science Fair. From left to right: Nayomi Cruz, Mattison Dominguez, Kasey Wallace and Colt Spencer. These students will compete in the State Science fair in Fort Collins in April.

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State qualifiers pose with their ribbons last week after the Durango Regional Science Fair. From left to right: Nayomi Cruz, Mattison Dominguez, Kasey Wallace and Colt Spencer. These students will compete in the State Science fair in Fort Collins in April.

Courtesy photo

Kasey Wallace poses with her state-bound science fair project last week in Durango. Wallace will compete at the State Science Fair in Ft. Collins April 9 to 11. Her project is on how math tests affect anxiety levels.

Courtesy photo

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Kasey Wallace poses with her state-bound science fair project last week in Durango. Wallace will compete at the State Science Fair in Ft. Collins April 9 to 11. Her project is on how math tests affect anxiety levels.

Courtesy photo

After competing at the Regional Science Fair in Durango last week, four students qualified for the state competition in April.

Kasey Wallace, Mattie Dominguez, Colt Spencer and Nayomi Cruz all scored high enough to move on to the next level.

Cruz, a sixth-grader, presented a project on plants.

Wallace's project was on anxiety.

"She studied anxiety in middle school students before and after math tests," said Kelly Gregory, Mancos science teacher. "She did a good data analysis."

Dominguez build three models of the digestive process using balloons containing an acid mixture that simulates the acid in a stomach.

"Then she tested what pain reliever dissolved the quickest," Gregory said.

"Colt (Spencer) wanted to solve the problem of dogs getting into the trash," Gregory said.

Spencer sprayed different solutions on the trash to see if his dogs would stay away.

He used chili pepper, rubbing alcohol and citrus solutions.

He found that the pepper and rubbing alcohol solutions kept his trash-loving dogs away for five minutes.

The State Science Fiar will be in Fort Collins April 9-11.

Mancos School District sent 30 students to the regional fair.

"They did great," she said. "We took home quite a few awards and the kids represented Mancos well."