Science Fair Project

What is a Science Fair Project?

First:
A science fair project is the ultimate answer to the often asked student question: "Why do I need to learn this stuff, anyway?"

It integrates, into one functional activity, virtually all of the skills and arts that are usually taught separately (sometimes not at all or without obvious "purpose") in many schools. When brought to completion, the project is an amalgamation of reading, writing, spelling, grammar, math, statistics, ethics, logic, critical thinking, computer science, graphic arts, scientific methodology, self-learning of one or more technical or specialty fields, and (if the project qualifies for formal competition) public speaking and defense in front of expert judges. Perhaps it is the only educational activity that allows the students to teach themselves, to take from the established information what they need to discover something exciting and new, and to identify and choose the tools that they need to conduct and conclude their project. When science fair projects are repeated, year after year through junior and senior high school, the science fair process yields mature, self-confident, skilled, and competitive young leaders who have career goals and the preparation, discipline, and drive to attain them.

Second:
A science fair project can be self-validating and exciting because it is not just practice, it involves real discovery of little known or even unknown information. It develops personal power of importance in students, where perhaps none or little existed before.

The project usually is based on questions or interests that the students already have, and allows them to develop the questions independently into formal, testable, solvable problems. When such studies are undertaken in earnest, the students often become driven by their projects. Learning the outcome and finding the answer can be an electrifyingly powerful moment of discovery. It proves to the student, and to others, that they were successful and that they did it on their own!

The result? An ordinary student is motivated to become an excellent student, and an excellent student to become a scholar. With all of the "self esteem" programs being sold to schools today, perhaps many educators have overlooked the sure-fire way to self-build student confidence, challenge potential, and instill the incredible feeling of independent achievement that the successful science fair project provides to the student.

Finally:
Science fair projects can pay off in cash and can open doors of academic opportunity. Well-done projects usually lead to competition and awards at our Greater San Diego regional fair. First-place winners there usually have the opportunity to compete for additional awards in the California State Science Fair. Top first-place winners from junior and senior divisions in our fair are selected as sweepstakes winners and receive cash awards. Additionally, selected senior sweepstakes winners (the best of the best) go on to compete with other grand prize winners from throughout the world for substantial cash and scholarship prizes at the annual International Science and Engineering Fair.

Perhaps most importantly, however, graduating high school students with records of awards for original research or engineering at the regional fair have a distinct advantage over other college applicants in being considered and accepted by schools of their choice. This is because science fair honors rank high among the screening factors used by admissions officers at most top universities.

Some of our results:

GSDSEF has administered to hundreds of thousands of area students since its 1954 inception.
Studies of our regional fair winners, conducted for the 25th, 35th, and 40th GSDSEF anniversaries show the following:
1. During their science fair years, many had won additional honors in related national and international competitions. For example, exhibitors in just one of our Fairs: (i) won trips to the London International Youth Science Fortnight and Japan Student Science Awards, (ii) won four of six students fellowships awarded at the Southern California Youth Junior Professional Development Science Fair and top prize at the National one, (iii) won 23 of the 48 prizes awarded at the California State Science and Engineering Fair, (iv) won four of the top awards at the International Science and Engineering Fair, and (v) won six major prizes including the sweepstakes trophy at the National Consortium, two of twenty "speaker" slots at the California Youth Science Congress, and awards totaling $11,200 at the Inventor's Workshop. In the same year, they also won Bank of America, Bausch and Lomb, American Academy of Achievement and Westinghouse Science Talenet Search awards.
2. Other Winners have been selected as guest exhibitors at the New Zealand National Science Fair, addressed a medical conference in Israel, attended the Nobel Awards Ceremonies in Sweden, and taken high honors in such notable science opportunities as The Research Training Program, the Lawrence Hall of Science Research Grant Program, and The Edison/MCGraw Scholarship Program--all outgrowths of GSDSEF participation.
3. Some 75 to 85-plus percent of our former exhibitors interviewed had science-related careers or courses of study, and of those, an equal percentage were in fields directly related to the science-fair-project work that they had done. Most impressive, however, were the numerous and multiple scholastic and professional honors awarded them through the years.
4. A significant percentage of our interviewees were in doctoral programs or had earned doctoral degrees.
In the last 11 years, 7,333 students (selected from more than 70,000) have participated in our regional fair. Their outstanding work was rewarded by the Fair's judges with 1,717 first places, 2,046 seconds, 1,771 thirds, and countless special honors and awards from our professional societies and other organizations.
Among our most dedicated and active volunteers among the GSDSEF membership are a cadre of former exhibitors: the "Student Advisory Board," who work "to give something back" to the Fair which has meant so much to them. In the words of one of them, the Fair experience is credited with "having as strong an influence on my life as all of my other education put together."

Want to know more about us?

Learn about what we do!
Find out about our needs!
What you can do to help:
- Support your local school's science fair efforts and attend its exhibition.
- Become a GSDSEF Fair volunteer, student advisor or mentor, or research supervisor.
- Contribute goods and services to run the fair or refreshments or lunches for entrants and judges.
- Become a member of the screening (preliminary qualifying) teams (January/February) and/or judge (one morning) each year.
- Send donations to the general fund.
- Send donations to the endowment fund.

Remember, the "science fair" does not just happen, magically, every spring. It needs everyone's (especially your) help.