The Value of a Science Fair

Science Fairs have gotten a bit of a bad reputation.  How many times have you heard someone say “oh goody, I have to do a science fair this year”? If you search “science fair” on Facebook, you will find many groups about how awful science fairs are before you come across any support groups.  Some school districts have even debated discontinuing mandatory science fairs.  Have science fairs outlived their purpose?  What is the real value of a science fair?

The real value is not learning the scientific method; this concept can be adequately driven home in a middle school classroom. Yes, participating in science fairs will strengthen your understanding of the scientific method, but that is not the real value.  Science fairs will encourage students to think critically, search for answers, and solve problems on their own. Since this is a multi-month project, long range planning and time management skills are reinforced. By presenting, and not just completing, your project you strengthen your written and verbal communication skills and become more comfortable discussing possibly complicated topics with a wide range of individuals.  These are critical skills for an independent adult, no matter what industry you eventually pursue.

Aside from the life skills learned, science fairs are a great opportunity to meet interesting new people, both your own age and potential professional contacts.  I made a lot of friends in science fairs: good friends who shared similar interests and motivation to succeed.  While exploring potential colleges, I actually traveled with one of my friends from Discovery Young Scientist Challenge (DYSC) to visit schools.  At a middle school regional fair, one of my judges was so impressed while talking to me that he gave me his card and told me to contact him when I was ready for college – he was a professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (which I later was accepted to with a substantial scholarship offer). I also received a high school job offer from judges to be teacher’s aide for Saturday morning robotics classes.  You really never know who you will meet or what doors will open because of science fairs.

Each year, college applications become increasingly competitive.  Participation in science fairs can increase the competitiveness of your application.  Not only could I list my awards in the “honors and awards” section of my application, but my experiences gave me unending fodder for essays.  I am proud to say that I was accepted to every college I applied to, and received many merit based scholarships from various organizations.  It’s an unfortunate fact of our society that you need to start planning for college as early as possible if you want to be the most competitive applicant you can be.  Middle school and junior high science fairs are not too early to begin networking and creating a marketable list of accomplishments for college applications.

Last but not least, the prizes you can win by participating in science fairs are just plain cool.  You could win an award to be patented, gift certificates, prize money, trips, or more – I even won a Game-boy once.  At DYSC, I won a TLC sponsored trip to the Carnegie Science Museum in Pennsylvania to build two cars with the reigning Junkyard Wars champions (video available on the Facebook fan page).  If you don’t remember the television show, two teams compete to build a mystery challenge device in 10 hours out of material found in a junkyard.  I suited up and built a dune buggy and dragster using power tools such as jig saws, acetylene torches, welders, and pipe benders – at age 14.  It was amazing, a once in a lifetime experience.  There is of course no guarantee that you will win huge prizes, but isn't it better to compete and try then never have a chance?

So what's the value of a science fair?  Interpersonal skills. Life Lessons. New friends. New opportunities. Amazing memories. Definitely sounds like a worthwhile experience to me!