What? A STEM Fair?

On February 6 - one day before my birthday - I will be walking around Parkville High School looking at what the students have prepared for the annual Science Fair, this year being presented as it's STEM Fair.  Some kids will have put weeks of research and preparation into their projects, and some will have put hours into theirs.  I remember my oldest and  his two best buddies science fair project at Parkville High School in 2004.  Plant growth under various types of lights.  I think they bought their tomato plants at some garden center the night before the science fair.  They were certainly very bedraggled plants, all of them.  They looked like they had been under a shoe box for a while.  Those three got no awards, no prizes, and no words of encouragement.  Not that they expected any. . .

But this year is different!  This year kids from AP science classes and GT science classes will be presenting their projects.  What type of antacid really works.  How do colorants in foods affect the eater?  How far can a slingshot sling if a slingshot could shoot slings?  Sorry, I couldn't resist. 

Seriously, though, we will see studies in Chemistry, Physics, and Biology, with some daily use implications.  For instance, one group of kids, with the occasional assist from their AP chemistry teacher, is looking to determine which chemical cold packs work the best.  Just the perfect thing to know for yours truly, who broke her foot two weeks ago, and keeps hearing that the foot must be iced! Another group of students are working on an engineering puzzle.  Their question revolves around triangles and bridges.  What angles support the most weight?  How would you structure your triangular supports when building a bridge that will carry tons and tons vs just foot traffic.  These kids who are working, are REALLY working. 

But why a STEM fair as opposed to a plain old science fair?  I think the answer to that question lies in the age-old question that our kids always ask us. . . 'but why do I have to learn this?  Is (fill in the blank subject) REALLY going to be useful in real life?'  STEM  focuses on more hands on work, and asks more real life/hands on questions.  STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.  STEM has been useful in getting students more interested in the things that matter - centrifugal force, for instance, is interestingly, very important to know about when coming off the beltway onto one of the exits to Harford Road.  The power of technological advancements is lauded on a daily basis - our high school children have lived in world where cell phones have been present their entire school-aged lives. Engineering is something that is fascinating, once you put away the textbooks of yore and go into the work room to find out how it really works.  And Math?  Well math has been the stabilizing factor of all the sciences since the world began. And yes, Sam, you WILL use Algebra and Geometry in real life!

So, come to Parkville High School between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 6, 2014 to see what the students have learned.  Buy some pizza to support the science department.  Compliment a STEM fair kid.  One of them might one day be your boss!