Certainly one of the most important questions for a science fair is "Why?" Why would I want to take the time and effort to do a project and enter it? Five reasons come to mind: (1) For junior and senior level students (grades 7-12), the science fair is an opportunity to "test" your interest in science and engineering. (2) For Elementary students (grades 1-6), science is fascinating because it provides answers to the "how" and "why" things work questions that young minds want to understand. (3) The opportunity to win an award. (4) A chance to move on to compete at the Oklahoma State Science and Engineering Fair, and the International Science and Engineering Fair. (5) The satisfaction of learning something that no one else has ever known!

For Junior (grades 7-9) and Senior (10-12) level students, the science fair is an opportunity to "test" your interest in science and engineering. With college just around the corner, the decision of what career field to pursue is important. Science and engineering careers are in consistently high demand in the job market, and are some of the best paying jobs available! If you are a natural-born scientist or engineer, you might just discover your career. Your project might spark an interest in a new industry that you want to create as a business person. Teaching might be your future career interest, if so you will gain a better understanding of the aspect of science or engineering your project is focused in.

For Elementary (grades 1-6) students, science is fascinating because it provides answers to the "how" and "why" things work questions that young minds want to understand. When was the last time your elementary school child asked you why or how something worked? Probably just a few hours ago! A science fair project allows your child to answer such a question on their own, with your assistance to guide them through the steps of the scientific method. The scientific method itself is very straightforward.

The opportunity to win an award. Medals and ribbons are awarded at all grade levels. In addition, over $1500 in cash, savings bonds and prizes were presented at the 1999 District Science Fair! In addition to cooperating to sponsor the District Science Fair, the following Bartlesville-area technical societies provide awards consisting of cash, savings bonds, plaques, certificates and other prizes: the Northeast Oklahoma Section of the American Chemical Society, the Bartlesville Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Engineers Club of Bartlesville, the Bartlesville Chapter of the Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers, and the Bartlesville-Tulsa Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers. Many other professional organizations also sponsor awards, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Petroleum Engineers, American Meteorological Society, National Association of Biology Teachers, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America, and the National Association of Corrosion Engineers. Businesses and government organizations also sponsor awards, including the Bartlesville Garden Center, Inc., Public Service Company of Oklahoma, Intel, Eastman Kodak Company, United States Air Force, United States Army, and the United States Navy/Marine Corps.

A chance to move on to compete at the Oklahoma State Science and Engineering Fair (OSSEF) (grades 7-12), and the International Science and Engineering Fair (grades 9-12). The top twenty-five projects in the Junior and Senior divisions are selected to move on to compete at the OSSEF, which is scheduled for late March of 2000. The OSSEF provides further opportunities to receive recognition in the form of medals, certificates, cash, savings bonds and other prizes. In addition, projects are selected at OSSEF to represent Oklahoma at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Detroit, Michigan, in May. The Bartlesville District Science Fair also selects its top two projects for competition at the International Science and Engineering Fair, and provides full funding (transportation, lodging, entry fees, and meals) for the students and their teachers representing the Bartlesville District Science Fair to travel and participate in Detroit. Competitors at the 1999 International Science and Engineering Fair represented 48 states and 40 nations; prizes included scholarships, tuition grants, internships, and scientific field trips. In addition, grand-prize winners at the International Science and Engineering Fair received all-expense paid trips to attend the Nobel Prize Ceremonies in Stockholm, Sweden!

The satisfaction of learning something that no one else has ever known. Consider these comments which are referenced from the Daily Oklahoman web site (www.oklahoman.net/science/): Your project will contribute to more understanding of our world, how it works, what it is made of, what lives in it, and what is around it. Certainly you will learn more yourself, but you may also discover a new process of manufacturing, or perhaps a different and stronger building material, or define safe limits of chemicals to prevent harm to the environment, to name a few practical applications of basic research. Recent projects at the Bartlesville District Science Fair that moved on to the International Science and Engineering Fair researched technical areas such as fabrics for wheelchairs, chimpanzee behavior, trash separators, the effects of chemicals on aquatic insects, high-speed photography and acoustical ordering of particles, the search for cancer cures, chemical reaction heats, and plant growth in hypergravity.

QQuestions? Contact the Director, Lee Carvell, at 918-661-3450.  

 

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