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Science and engineering fairs, hosted by schools worldwide, offer students the opportunity to experience the practices of science and engineering for themselves. In the United States, the Next Generation Science Standards makes experiencing the practices of science and engineering one of the three pillars of science education.

Science fairs began in the United States in New York City in the 1930's under the auspices of a civic organization called the American Institute of the City of New York ^[1] with the effort led in New York City by Morris Meister who later founded the Bronx School of Science. Meister believed in the educational ideas of John Dewey that focused on doing rather than just learning what already had been done. According to the New York Times article that reported about the meeting of science educators (Plans Science Club for School Pupils. May 22 1932), the goals of the after-school science club federation were two fold, to aid in the development of the scientific leaders of the next generation and at the same time foster a better understanding of science among its laymen.

Initially, science fairs were mostly exhibits and demonstration projects or mere displays of projects, which changed after the 1939–1940 New York World’s Fair. Increasingly, science and engineering fairs became viewed by many as a way to encourage and help students find their way into science and engineering career paths ^[2]. Popularity of science fairs in the United States increased in the 1950's along with interest in the sciences after the world witnessed the use of the first two atomic weapons and the dawn of television. As the decade progressed, science stories in the news, such as Jonas Salk's vaccine for polio and the launch of Sputnik, brought science fiction to reality and attracted increasing numbers of students at every level to fairs.^[3]

Now science and engineering fairs attract students at every level -- elementary, middle and high school -- to compete in science and/or technology activities.^[4] Science fairs may also allow for students with intense interest in the sciences to be paired with mentors from nearby colleges and universities, so that the students have access to instruction and equipment that the local schools do not provide. This mentoring, along with coaching students for their science fair interviews, has been shown to be very important for student success ^[5].

Science fair competitions

Most countries have regional science fairs in which interested students can freely participate. Winners of these regional fairs send students to national fairs such as ISEF^[6] and CWSF. National science fairs typically send winners to international fairs such as ISEF (which is a national and an international science fair) and EUCYS. Currently, the biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals sponsors the Science Talent Search with a grand prize of a $250,000 scholarship. The Sundance Film Festival prize-winning 2018 film {{Science Fair} chronicles the competition. The 2018 book The Class chronicles a year in which which science and engineering fair becomes the center of science education.

References

^ https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137031877. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ https://www.bu.edu/hps-scied/files/2012/10/Terzian-HPS-1939%E2%80%931940-World%E2%80%99s-Fair-the-Transformation-of-the-American-Science-Extracurriculum.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ Cox, Jimmy. "A History of Science Fairs". Streetdirectory. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
^ Fredericks, Anthony D. (2000). "What is a science fair project?". Science Fair Handbook. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
^ https://www.nsta.org/connected-science-learning/connected-science-learning-september-october-2022/high-school-science. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ "Student Science - Find a Fair". findafair.societyforscience.org. Retrieved 2018-11-14.

External links

[1] ttps://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137031877. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[2] ttps://www.bu.edu/hps-scied/files/2012/10/Terzian-HPS-1939%E2%80%931940-World%E2%80%99s-Fair-the-Transformation-of-the-American-Science-Extracurriculum.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[3] Cox, Jimmy. "A History of Science Fairs". Streetdirectory. Retrieved 8 March 2018.

[4] Fredericks, Anthony D. (2000). "What is a science fair project?". Science Fair Handbook. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2018.

[5] ttps://www.nsta.org/connected-science-learning/connected-science-learning-september-october-2022/high-school-science. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[6] "Student Science - Find a Fair". findafair.societyforscience.org. Retrieved 2018-11-14.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Competitive event hosted by school}}
 {{Distinguish|Science festival}}
-{{For|the 2018 film|Science Fair (film)}}
 [[File:US Navy 100416-N-5539C-006 Construction Electrician 3rd Class Jill Johnston and Lt. Col. Johnny Lizama listen to third-graders from Harry S. Truman Elementary School explain their science projects.jpg|thumb|Science fair project display]]
-A '''science fair''' is a competitive event, hosted by schools worldwide. The distinguishing characteristic of a science fair is that project entries employ the scientific method to test a hypothesis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://learing-center.homesciencetools.com/|title=Designing a Science Fair Project|website=learning-center.homesciencetools.com|access-date=2019-08-23}}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Science fairs are not exhibits or mere displays of projects. Students present their [[science project]] results in the form of a report, [[display board]], and/or models that they have created. Science fairs allow students in elementary, middle and high schools to compete in science and/or technology activities.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.eduplace.com/science/profdev/science_fair/whatis.html |title=What is a science fair project? |last=Fredericks |first=Anthony D. |date=2000 |website=Science Fair Handbook |access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-date=11 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411115918/https://www.eduplace.com/science/profdev/science_fair/whatis.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The goal of a science fair is for students to answer a question based on a hypothesis. Students often work on science fair projects in addition to their school work. Therefore, most science fair entries are usually modified versions of existing experiments. Display boards help communicate the nuances of a project to science fair judges, visitors, and other entrants.<ref>see Heather Won Tesoriero, ''The Class: A HECK-Changing Teacher, His World-Changing Kids, and the Most Inventive Classroom in America'' (2018) for how the top projects are built.</ref>
+Science and engineering fairs, hosted by schools worldwide, offer students the opportunity to experience the practices of science and engineering for themselves. In the United States, the [[Next Generation Science Standards]] makes experiencing the practices of science and engineering one of the three pillars of science education.
-Science fairs may also allow for students with intense interest in the sciences to be paired with mentors from nearby colleges and universities, so that the students have access to instruction and equipment that the local schools do not provide.
+Science fairs began in the United States in New York City in the 1930's under the auspices of a civic organization called the American Institute of the City of New York <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137031877}}</ref> with the effort led in New York City by [[Morris Meister]] who later founded the [[Bronx School of Science]]. Meister believed in the educational ideas of [[John Dewey]] that focused on doing rather than just learning what already had been done. According to the [[New York Times]] article that reported about the meeting of science educators (''Plans Science Club for School Pupils''. May 22 1932), the goals of the after-school science club federation were two fold, ''to aid in the development of the scientific leaders of the next generation and at the same time foster a better understanding of science among its laymen.''
-== History ==
-Science fairs date back to 1942, when [[William Emerson Ritter]] and [[Edward W. Scripps]] created "[[The Science Talent Search]]" for high school students.
+Initially, science fairs were mostly exhibits and demonstration projects or mere displays of projects, which changed after the 1939–1940 New York World’s Fair. Increasingly, science and engineering fairs became viewed by many as a way to encourage and help students find their way into science and engineering career paths <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bu.edu/hps-scied/files/2012/10/Terzian-HPS-1939%E2%80%931940-World%E2%80%99s-Fair-the-Transformation-of-the-American-Science-Extracurriculum.pdf}}</ref>. Popularity of science fairs in the United States increased in the 1950's along with interest in the sciences after the world witnessed the use of the first two [[atomic weapon]]s and the dawn of [[television]]. As the decade progressed, science stories in the news, such as [[Jonas Salk]]'s [[vaccine for polio]] and the launch of [[Sputnik]], brought science fiction to reality and attracted increasing numbers of students at every level to fairs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/118515/science/a_history_of_science_fairs.html |title=A History of Science Fairs |last=Cox |first=Jimmy |publisher= Streetdirectory|access-date=8 March 2018}}</ref>
-The first American National Science Fair was won by '''Alan J. Fletcher''' when he was 18, winning with a display on the [[laws of motion]].
-In the [[United States]], science fairs became popular in the early 1950s. Interest in the sciences was at a new high after the world witnessed the use of the first two [[atomic weapon]]s and the dawn of [[television]]. As the decade progressed, science stories in the news, such as [[Jonas Salk]]'s [[vaccine for polio]] and the launch of [[Sputnik]], brought science fiction to reality and attracted increasing numbers of students to fairs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/118515/science/a_history_of_science_fairs.html |title=A History of Science Fairs |last=Cox |first=Jimmy |publisher= Streetdirectory|access-date=8 March 2018}}</ref>
+Now science and engineering fairs attract students at every level -- elementary, middle and high school -- to compete in science and/or technology activities.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.eduplace.com/science/profdev/science_fair/whatis.html |title=What is a science fair project? |last=Fredericks |first=Anthony D. |date=2000 |website=Science Fair Handbook |access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-date=11 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411115918/https://www.eduplace.com/science/profdev/science_fair/whatis.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Science fairs may also allow for students with intense interest in the sciences to be paired with mentors from nearby colleges and universities, so that the students have access to instruction and equipment that the local schools do not provide. This mentoring, along with coaching students for their science fair interviews, has been shown to be very important for student success <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nsta.org/connected-science-learning/connected-science-learning-september-october-2022/high-school-science}}</ref>.
 == Science fair competitions ==
-Most countries have regional science fairs in which interested students can freely participate. Winners of these regional fairs send students to national fairs such as [[ISEF]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://findafair.societyforscience.org/|title=Student Science - Find a Fair|website=findafair.societyforscience.org|access-date=2018-11-14}}</ref> and [[Canada-Wide Science Fair|CWSF]]. National science fairs typically send winners to international fairs such as ISEF (which is a national and an international science fair) and [[EUCYS]].
+Most countries have regional science fairs in which interested students can freely participate. Winners of these regional fairs send students to national fairs such as [[ISEF]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://findafair.societyforscience.org/|title=Student Science - Find a Fair|website=findafair.societyforscience.org|access-date=2018-11-14}}</ref> and [[Canada-Wide Science Fair|CWSF]]. National science fairs typically send winners to international fairs such as ISEF (which is a national and an international science fair) and [[EUCYS]]. Currently, the biotechnology company [[Regeneron Pharmaceuticals]] sponsors the Science Talent Search with a grand prize of a $250,000 scholarship. The [[Sundance Film Festival]] prize-winning 2018 film {{Science Fair} chronicles the competition. The 2018 book ''[http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554335/the-class-by-heather-won-tesoriero The Class]'' chronicles a year in which which science and engineering fair becomes the center of science education.
 ==See also==
@@ Line 28: / Line 27: @@
 *{{cite news|last1=Schank|first1=Hana|title=Science Fairs Aren't So Fair|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/why-science-fairs-arent-so-fair/387547/|access-date=8 March 2018|work=The Atlantic|date=12 March 2015}}
 * Won Tesoriero, Heather. ''The Class: A Life-Changing Teacher, His World-Changing Kids, and the Most Inventive Classroom in America'' (2018) in-depth narrative of science fair students at top high school in 2016-17. [https://www.amazon.com/Class-Life-Changing-World-Changing-Inventive-Classroom/dp/0399181849  excerpt]; also [https://thinkgreenwichct.org/the-class-review-science-fair-confidential/ online review]
+* [https://issues.org/reinventing-science-fairs/ Reinventing Science Fairs]
 {{Refend}}

Revision as of 02:14, 2 November 2022

Science fair competitions

See also

References

Further reading

External links