Today my colleague and I met about our upcoming Science Fair on May 13, 2014. We have been running behind on this project so it felt good to find an hour to sit down together and hammer some things out.
We have held two science events together so far. The first year we did a Science Fun night in which students in groups of 2-3 held science based demonstrations/activities for the entire school to participate in. The hands-on entertainment was interesting and fun and had a science explanation to accompany it. The evening was a huge success.
The following year we conducted a full-on science fair for grades 6-12. Students worked on science experiments that were founded in the scientific method. We worked so hard to guide the students through the process of design, experimentation, and presentation. The result exceeded our expectations. We brought in outside judges from the local universities and they were very impressed with what they saw. The science was great and the students were so professional that night. It was perfect.
This year we are aiming for something different: a tour of global warming and climate change to coincide with the school’s going green initiative. We will have a special guest speaker to commence the evening. Then parents and community member will take a tour prepared by the students. Each student will be individually responsible for presenting a particular issue. We envision the starting section to be about global warming and climate change, including the political issues surrounding it. Presentations on the causes of global warming will follow. Next the Effects of global warming will be encountered. Then participants will learn of solutions to global warming and they will finally be inspired to make manageable changes at home beginning that evening. We are excited about it and, as with all things, it becomes more thrilling as the pieces begin to come together.