April 20, 2012 at 6:45 p.m.
Students for a sustainable future
Nativity School hosted 27th annual science and sustainability fair
Students for a sustainable future
Junior high science teacher Paula Schneider has organized the fair for the past 10 years and was the one who introduced the sustainability aspect of the fair because she felt it would be an important lesson for the students and the community.
"We always held the fair around this time of year and it just made sense to make it the same Thursday of Earth Week every year and then try to incorporate more environmental projects," she said. "Two women in the community started the fair all those years ago but it was only during the school day so I thought if we kept it open until 6 p.m., members of the community and families could then come and enjoy the projects."
Every student is required to have a project and some grades have themes like the first grade class who used recyclable materials to make their projects.
"It's easier for the younger kids to work under a theme so theirs focus more on the sustainability where as I wanted to give the older students an opportunity to experiment on whatever they wanted," Schneider said. "Now the eighth graders do a year-long project so they have been working on theirs for a long time so they're really proud to finally show them off."
The eighth graders Acme projects are very detailed and the students are required to present to someone in the community and the students must treat it like they were pitching their idea.
"I wanted to make it a big deal so they have to present their project to someone or a business in the community just like a scientist would," she said. "It really makes them think scientifically and take this project seriously."
Schneider said she also takes the opportunity to bring all of her classes down to the fair to let them explore and learn what other students are doing.
"I think it's great that the students get to show off all the hard work they did and it's a good opportunity for their classmates to see the other projects," she said. "Some of the kids really get into it and though some may not like science as much, having them develop a question and work to find an answer is an important part of science and life in general."
Sixth grader Kylie Rappley said she enjoys coming down to the gym to look at all the projects and to see everyone's creativity.
"It's really fun to see what people come up with, like someone made goo, which was really cool," she said. "You kind of get to learn about people like one guy who's really into electronics, and you can see their personality in their projects."
Carly Seidl said she made her project fun by using her family and her dog as her inspiration.
"I decided to test how long it would take for my dog to go to each of my family members when they called," she said. "Our dog went to my mom the fastest but I think that's because he likes her better."
Schneider said it is important for her to carry on the science fair because it's not just a good learning tool but an opportunity for the students to become more environmentally conscious.
"Right now the environmental and sustainability part is smaller because I want the kids to experiment on whatever they want and making it only environmental would really narrow it down too much but I'm always looking for ways to incorporate it," she said.
"It's such an important topic and these kids are the next generation who have to live with the environmental issues and we want them to know more about protecting the environment so they can have a more positive impact."
Monica Baltich may be reached at [email protected].
WEATHER SPONSORED BY
E-Editions
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
Comments:
You must login to comment.