Planning Your Science Fair?

Abstract

WHY HAVE A SCIENCE FAIR? At the annual AAAS meetings held in Indianapolis, December, 1957, several of our leading scientists stated bluntly that America's lag in output of scientific research is not due to the fact that we are not spending enough money on research or that we lack adequate equipment. No, it appears to be a much more deeply-rooted problem than either of these. It is rather the type of science students which we are producing! Even many of the students in our outstanding research institutions lack the two primary qualities required by research -PATIENCE and CURIOSITY. Students are unwilling to spend the amount of time required to fully investigate questions which they may have. Further, they are too willing to accept all of the presently written materials unquestioningly. With these unfortunate facts in mind, we in education must re-evaluate our approach, both from the student and instructional levels, and ask, Where and how are we failing to stimulate the imagination possessed by children before they reach the age level when they may take scientific courses? and How can we develop greater patience and curiosity in, especially, those more talented in these fields? It is clearly obvious that their social graces are not being neglected. Now we must turn our energies and attention to that job of training our students to meet these real requirements of successful living-primarily appreciating, wondering, and ultimately wanting to investigate the world in which we live, rather than taking all for granted. If a student is willing to make himself become adequately interested in any problem to set up a public display and to do it in such a way that it is informative to all who view it, he, then, is developing toward this goal. These are the benefits which a science fair can render: informing the public; stimulating the interest and imagination of the student; and contributing to the development of his patience and curiosity. The Next Step Having decided to attempt a science fair presents problems of housing the projects. This can be easily overcome by obtaining the use of the gymnasium, cafeteria, or science labs. Many times tables are available in the cafeteria or various classrooms which can be used for the display of the projects. Every occasion such as this, especially when entrants are participating from outside your town school, will require a few rules to keep operations on par. These need be few and uninvolved. Below listed is the set of rules by which the Pontiac Science Fair successfully operates. Yours may be similar.