Science Fairs Celebrate Active Learning

  A student presents his Science Fair projectKLSD 2017 Science Fairs were festive celebrations of active learning, enjoyed by student scientists and their families, the administration, teachers, and scientists from the community.

Evolutionary Camouflage. Fingerprint Forensics. The Science of Flavor. How Oil Spills Affect Marine Life. Extracting DNA from Strawberries. Yawning. Slime. Static Electricity. Stardust. Springs. Gravity. Magnets. Meteors and Asteroids. Crystals. Toothpaste. Water Filters. Erupting Volcanoes.

These are some of the topics student explored in this year’s Science Fairs. Approximately one hundred projects were on display at each of the elementary school’s Science Fairs in February, each one accompanied by the student or team who had created it. The children’s knowledge and ability to communicate were as impressive as their projects.  

Participation in the science fair is encouraged but not mandatory. Students choose a topic that interests them and turn in an application in mid-January. They receive a three-fold display board and plenty of extra help on constructing a hypothesis, testing it with an experiment, drawing conclusions, and communicating the results.

Increase Miller Elementary School has had a science fair for several years. This was the third year for Meadow Pond Elementary School’s, and the inaugural year for Katonah Elementary School’s Science Fair. Each is a parent-run event, with support from the school’s PTA, parents, and teachers.

“Our science fair goal is to encourage scientific exploration in our students and to promote a lifelong love of science,” said Meadow Pond Elementary School Science Fair co-chairs Dawn Kamerman and Amanda Dickerson. 

“Science builds inquisitive minds and pushes students to think out of the box,” said Leah Jacobson, MD, MPH, who co-chaired Katonah Elementary School’s Science Fair with Susan Williams. “It encourages students to ask questions, do experiments and explore aspects of science that interest them."

David Fried, Chair of the Increase Miller Elementary School Science Fair, said, “The caliber of projects improves every year. These kids are doing incredible experiments across an array of disciples including chemistry, physics, and genetics. The breadth and depth of the projects is really impressive.”

All participants received stickers and ribbons.

 

Increase Miller Science Fair

Live from the Increase Miller Science Fair

Katonah Elementary Science Fair

Meadow Pond Science Fair