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Being Simple

My friend A is judge in the state science fair and I enjoy listening to him talk about projects that impressed him. They tend to be uncomplicated yet novel - something he attributes to a kid's natural curiosity about the work and the ability to apply what is taught in school in original ways. 

I have always been skeptical about science fairs because they seem to crowd out the type of kids who A would root for. Their projects are not grand and unlikely to change the world. They are the child's own and the lack of maturity and access to resources is plainly evident. Those are exactly the reasons the kids deserve encouragement. Unfortunately, the winner of the big science fairs rarely if ever fall in this category. 

There are not enough judges like A around to push them all the way to the top. This year A was excited about how kids were tinkering in cloud technology and making commonsense use of the capabilities. The ease of access has made experimentation easy for anyone with an idea. Maybe cloud will level the playing field for science fairs and it has done for businesses. 

Not only do many science fairs include a doubtful amount of science, but according to the results of a 2003 study from Arizona State University that surveyed over 400 middle-school students, they don’t serve to engage kids much, either. The study found that they hardly increase students’ interest in science or influence their understanding of the scientific method, at least at the middle-school level.

What was true in 2003 is even more true now. A Chopped version of the science fair is probably the way to breathe some new life into it and remove the parents from the mix.

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