ASC to Host Valley High School Science Fair March 10 and 11

Megan Smith
The Paw Print

Fourth through twelfth grade students from across the San Luis Valley and Salida will show off their math and scientific talents on March 10 and 11 during the 62nd annual San Luis Valley Regional Science Fair (SLV RSF)  held at Adams State College Plachy Field House.
Creativity, resourcefulness, and energy are the key ingredients that drive the fair. Science fair projects will be judged on strong scientific merit, as well as how well each student knows their material. Current and past professors from Adams State College, upper division students at ASC, many business and organization professionals from through out the Valley, and Navy and Marine Corps make up the judging teams.  
So here is how it works. Each Valley school district appoints one or more coordinators to represent their school. The coordinators are then responsible for the science projects and the administration of their local school fairs. The lucky winners of those fairs then go on to the SLV RSF. There the projects are entered in the following categories: Behavioral and Social Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Mathematics and Computers, Physics, Zoology and Biomedical, and Team projects.
For those who don’t know, the very first Science Fair actually took place on the Adams State College campus in 1949, and at that time the fairs were held in the old Math and Science Building. Also at this time, directors of the fair consisted of department heads and a work study student. Throughout the years many changes were made to improve the fair. In 1979, thirty years from the first fair, a group of community leaders and ASC professors organized a Board of Trustees and the fair was moved to Plachy Field House, as the exhibits had overgrown the science building.
The Trustees also decided to use marketing and fund-raising tools to promote academic excellence and pride for SLV students. Other great achievements for the fair include non-profit status granted by the IRS in 1981 and sponsorship by the SLV board of Cooperative Services (BOCES) in 1985. At that time, BOCES provided an office and salaried personnel to help organize the fair. Today, the Science Fair office still remains at BOCES and now has a paid executive director, Lucy Adams.
During this week’s fair students are interviewed by all the judges. All student participants at the SLV RSF will receive a ribbon and certificate of participation. Winners from each category are then presented with monetary awards, and special awards are given with compensations. These special awards will total up to 10,000 dollars. Senior and junior level grades will compete for a spot at the Colorado State Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held in Ft. Collins, Colorado at CSU, April 7-9, 2011. Grand awards are given in several science areas, internships, and scholarships. The overall two winning senior high projects are awarded an all expenses paid trip to the Intel/International Science Fair, which will be held in Los Angeles, California, during the week of May 8.
Registration begins for the students at on Thursday, March 10 at 8:30 a.m. and the public may view the projects from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. Personal interviews with judges start at 9 a.m. Friday, March 11, and the Award Ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. at Plachy Field House.