Lakeview Primary hosted its first-ever science fair for kindergarten through second grade and remarked it was a success.
Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) teacher Brittany Nichols was in charge of planning and conducting the science fair. According to her, the project was a “big undertaking” at first but had a “wonderful outcome.”
Previously, Nichols had hosted STEAM-focused class projects that only reached a few classes each year. Wishing to grow the number of students interacting with these STEAM-related projects, Nichols decided it was time for the school’s first science fair.
“Doing class projects, I could only reach a small group of students. I wanted to expand the impact of STEAM and give the students a chance to explore something of their interest,” said Nichols. “So, I began working with families in October to prepare for the upcoming science fair.”
Nichols sent weekly emails to families to discern interest and walk the family member or parent assisting the student through the process. Students began their projects in October with small weekly assignments to help them reach completion step by step.
“We wanted to ensure the process was easy and fluent,” said Nichols. “Though, the initial level of interest did drop as the process progressed.”
Despite interest numbers dropping, 18 projects were completed for the science fair on Jan. 23. Seventeen of the projects were related to the scientific method, and one project was related to engineering. Nichols estimated that each project took at least about 20 hours of work at home to complete.
“The first project was turned in the week before the fair. I had teary eyes opening the projects and seeing the amazing work,” said Nichols.
Nichols added that she was also very proud of several students who attempted to complete a project but did not reach completion. However, most of these students still opted to not enter the fair.
“We encouraged students who did not finish to still compete because science is a process. Not reaching the end is still a part of the process and they did a great amount of work and effort to reach where they were,” said Nichols.
All students who participated were judged by community members on their creativity, presentation, interview, research question, and their overall knowledge of their topics. All participants received medals and the parent or family member who assisted them received a certificate.
Students who earned first or second place will advance to the state competition held in March at Georgia College & State University.
First-place winners included Bye Bye Brown Bananas by Sofia and Titus Shaw, Crystal Clear by Bryson Newsome, Five Second Rule by Emma Gillett, Plants Save the World by Hattie Snyder, and Wym Heagy, who placed first in the engineering fair. Second-place winners included Apples to Apples by Jo Riley and Kara Coburn, Bacteria Invasion by Alexis Odhiambo, Berry Fresh by Ben Kelley, and Too Hot to Handle by Brayden Linder.
“The science fair walked students through the process of beginning to ask questions and learn how to answer them on their own. It improves their critical thinking and analysis skills while also promoting exploration,” said Nichols. “We hope the excitement we fostered this year encourages more students to participate in next year’s competition.”
Nichols plans to improve the science fair next year by hosting a meeting with parents to explain the process ahead of time more thoroughly and reach out sooner.
“I am very excited for next year’s competition, and I wish each of our students the best of luck at state,” said Nichols. “Each student who participated did an outstanding job.”