WAYNESBORO- The 40th Annual Franklin Science and Technology Fair was held on April 5 – 6 from noon to 4 pm at the Waynesboro Area Middle School (WAMS).
“This is an opportunity for students to apply their knowledge of the scientific method by conducting independent research and developing a science fair board” according to Sarah Hodge, Franklin County Science Council President. “We had 246 exhibits registered for this year’s Fair” she said.
Students from any school in Franklin County are eligible to participate in one of four Divisions based on their school grade: Primary (K – 3), Intermediate (4 – 6), Junior (7 – 8), and Senior (9 – 12). This year’s event included participants from home schools, Chambersburg, Tuscarora and Waynesboro School Districts, Shalom Christian Academy, Montessori Academy, and others.
Students are divided into Divisions covering grades K – 8. They prepare projects in the categories of Earth Science, Life Science, Physical Science, Computer Science and Mathematics. There is also a category for Partnered Exhibits where two students prepare the project.
Junior and Senior Divisions have a much broader and more detailed list of categories including Engineering, Medical and Health, and Physics, among others.
The Council, consisting of teachers from Franklin County, start planning the event in January of each year, notifying schools and providing guidelines on their website, franklinscience.org. “We get a lot of help from other teachers in all the school districts, as well as from Shippensburg, Penn State Mont Alto, businesses and other organizations.” said Catherine Myers, a board member. A list of 29 sponsors and donors is included on their website.
“We’re actively looking to have more businesses come and participate” said Emily Poffenberger, also a board member. “JLG is a big help, but there are many others who will benefit from sound science education.”
In addition to the fair, there were other activities.
A Science Exploration Station was provided by Jennifer Maze, a Chambersburg High School Chemistry teacher. This included 10 “stations” manned by seniors from Chambersburg High
School, who provided science fair participants opportunities to participate in hands-on science experiments. “Many of the participants enjoyed seeing science they had not seen before” said Maze. “This was a big hit with students” added Myers.
Carnegy Mellon brought a Fabrication Laboratory, a 3D Printer that made small toys on the spot from a small catalogue of designs and given away to students. This is the same kind of technology the space program and others say will be necessary if we are ever to spend a lot of time in space or other planets. It will just be easier to find local materials and make your own spare parts than to ship them from Earth.
“This is also the first year we added a Book Fair” said Hodge. The Book Fair was organized by WAMS Librarian Holly Witmer, and was a very nice addition.
An awards ceremony at 4pm on the 6th was both an ending point and a starting point.
“Judging is particularly tough for an event like this” said Myers. “With so many exhibits covering so many scientific disciplines, it takes a lot of talented and skilled people to judge fairly. This is where we are so grateful to all of our sponsors and contributors.” She went on to say that over 30 judges from Manitowoc, JLG, Shippensburg, Penn State Mont Alto, Letterkenny and others bring their skills to bear.
WAMS Auditorium was filled with students and parents of those being awarded for their efforts. A list of all winners and their schools can be downloaded here. While the awards ceremony marked the end of the Science Fair, for some of the winners it marked the beginning of additional competition.
Next week, Junior and Senior Winners will have an opportunity to present their projects to a select group of judges. Depending on how these presentations go Franklin County winners will have a chance to move on to state and potentially national science competitions.
As the Fair drew to a close, Fair organizers took a short breath before returning to actually teaching the science their students demonstrated so well this past weekend.
