Steamboat Pilot & Today

Six Hayden Middle School students could be at the start of something big.

After victories at the school's sixth-grade science fair last week, students Aubree Haskins, Erin Koehler, Emily Mahanna, Mac McLung, Mallory McGowen and Aspen Zabel are competing today at the 50th Western Colorado Regional Science Fair at Mesa State College in Grand Junction.

The nonprofit Colorado State Science Fair is hosting the event along with regional competitions across the state during the next several weeks. Winners from each regional event will be invited to participate in the annual Colorado Science and Engineering Fair from April 6 to 8 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

If a Hayden student advances to the state competition and wins there, he or she would be eligible for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair from May 6 to 13 in Indianapolis.

According to Colorado State Science Fair documents, about 1,400 students from more than 40 nations compete at the international event for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prize: a $50,000 college scholarship.

That would be quite a prize for a sixth-grader.

But getting to state won't be easy for the students. Part--icipants from 12 other western Colorado counties -- Delta, Eagle, Garfield, Gunnison, Lake, Mesa, Moffat, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, Rio Blanco and San Miguel -- also have been invited to the two-day regional competition.

The Hayden contingent left Monday with sixth-grade science teacher Robin Bush and parent sponsors including Troy Zabel, principal of Hayden Middle School and Hayden High School.

The group is scheduled to return to Hayden late today.