Science fairs scheduled at local schools

Schools around the Inland Northwest are doing their part to spur kids’ interest in science through a time-honored tradition: the science fair.

Fairs vary from school to school, but over the next several months, many schools will share the familiar scene of students proudly carrying their projects – their homemade volcanoes, posters that diagram the parts of flowers or bees and hands-on experiments involving electricity, water, magnets and more – into gyms and cafeterias.

At Progress Elementary School, science fair projects are required for all grades except kindergarten, but still nearly every one of the 325 students participates, said fifth-grade teacher Sharon Naccarato.

The fair’s structure “mirrors what our kids are expected to do on the WASL,” she said. Teachers explain in detail how the projects are to be done – displays for the younger grades and experiments for the upper grades. Ribbons and certificates are given to all kindergarten through third-grade students while the fourth- and fifth-graders have their projects graded and awarded blue, red or white ribbons.

On Jan. 26, all of the projects will be on display for parents and the community. This year, the school is also holding a silent auction during the science fair, to raise money for the fifth-grade classes to go on an overnight field trip to the outdoor learning center at Chewelah Peaks.

At Pratt Elementary, teachers Sherrie Skladany and Dan Frye are holding a one-hour session every Wednesday evening to work with students on science fair projects. During the club time, students get to research their projects on the Internet and use other school resources. It’s the third year Pratt – with about 290 students – has held a science fair, and the number of students participating keeps going up, Skladany said. This year, there are 30 students working on their projects in the club. Some are exploring animals while others are finding out about hurricanes. The fair will be Jan. 31.

At Sunrise Elementary, the Parent-Teacher Organization hosts a “presenter’s night” about a month before the science fair to get ideas flowing. Representatives from businesses and organizations in the area, such as Avista, the gem society, engineering club, health-care organizations and more, are available to show students how science fits into real-life situations.

Rose Guegel, PTO president, said the science fair, scheduled for the end of February, is very popular. Why? “(Students) get to choose what interests them.”

She said her daughters, a second-grader and fifth-grader, have entered the fair for several years with projects such as “What cleans a penny best?” and “What materials birds make their nests out of.”

Some schools, such as Shaw Middle School, are finding ways to get the whole family involved. On March 20, Shaw will host Family Science Night. Students, working with their families, can create a project for the “fair” part of the event, build a mousetrap car and race it that night or take on one of three different science investigations with their families.

“Kids naturally love science,” Skaldany said. ” They just need the opportunity to explore it. They need time to indulge in it.”