By Martha Ross

As part of Monte Vista High's Science Alliance, Drew Bell was one of more than 200 volunteer mentors helping some 245 San Ramon Valley District fifth-graders prepare for an annual April science fair.

With the Monte Vista senior's help, Bell's two buddies from Danville’s Green Valley Elementary, Tucker Busboom and Kyle Widman, won first place in their division. Their experiment involved studying which liquids encouraged the most mold growth on sliced bread over 36 days.

Science Alliance was started at Monte Vista in 2004 and may soon expand to other local high schools. Bell loved sharing his science excitement with younger kids. "I wish I’d had someone showing me what I needed to do for the science fair when I was younger.”

For information, visit mvsciencealliance.org.

Published: Diablo, July 2009

Author bio: Martha Ross is an associate editor at Diablo magazine, and a mom.