Sixth-grader Ezaiah Cisneros’ favorite subject is science and it shows. He’s on his way to the Texas Science and Engineering Fair set for today and Saturday at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio.
The Ector Middle School student’s project is a smart insulin pump. His effort took first place in biomedical and health sciences in the Intermediate Division of the Permian Basin Science & Engineering Fair.
“What I did was I tried simulating what happens to a Type 1 diabetic person and I tried using chemicals like vinegar, baking soda and others and some water and I tried simulating a person that has Type 1 diabetes and high blood sugar and tried using vinegar that was supposed to be insulin to get the high blood sugar to normal,” said Cisneros, who is 11.
He said he has family and friends with this type of diabetes.
When he gets older, Cisneros said he wants to make a pump that can help people with Type 1 diabetes. He said insulin can be injected or pumped into the body. But mostly, he wants to go into engineering where he can create robots that help people with their daily lives. The pump was the first step in that direction, he said.
The Mayo Clinic website said Type 1 diabetes, previously known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, “is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy.”
Cisneros said he’s looking forward to the trip to San Antonio very much. This will be his first trip to the state competition. The contest is expected to attract 1,200 students from sixth through 12th grade.
“I think it’s really cool and … science is just one of my favorite things to do,” he said.
Learning how things are made and how they run is what fuels Cisneros’ interest in science.
“… My favorite science topic has to be the technology and engineering because usually I like to create … things. I’m always thinking of these ideas,” he said.
Andrea Crenshaw, a sixth-grade science teacher at Ector, said Cisneros is very motivated.
“He is the most go-getting child I’ve ever met. He’s going to do great things,” Crenshaw said. She added that he’s “like a superstar around here at this point.”
Principal Kendra Herrera agreed that the campus is very proud of Cisneros.
“It’s some positive press for the school. It gets our name out there. He’s representing our school in San Antonio and it really just makes a name for us here, so we’re all … rooting for him in San Antonio,” Herrera said.
Qualifying for the state science fair from the UTPB STEM Academy are sixth-graders Isaac Areilano, Allison Barnes, Ethan Cress, Zoe Curry and Hannah Douglas and seventh-grader Jaida Wilson.
