In praise of science fairs

I had the privilege to judge 4th grade science projects all morning yesterday at our neighborhood school, Murfee Elementary, here in Lubbock. It is always interesting to listen to both parents and students respond to the science fair. My favorite part of judging the science fair is having the chance to talk with students in depth about their projects. At Murfee, every other year all students in a grade level are required to submit a project. This means kindergarteners, 2nd graders, 4th graders, and 6th graders are required to complete projects and submit them for judging. In other grades, the activity is optional.

This year, no third graders elected to do a science fair project in the entire school. Last year, my son was the only first grader who chose to do a project.

Many parents complain about the science fair for multiple reasons. It takes a long time to do, students often need a lot of guidance and support as they work on a project, some projects seem to have been done mostly (or entirely) BY a parent, rather than the child…. the list goes on and on.

In support of science fairs and the entire process, as both a parent, educator, and again a science fair judge, I observe that the science fair is a great activity for students because it is a form of learning and assessment that STUDENTS CANNOT FAKE. True, a parent may have played a major role in the completion of the project and the construction of the showboard. However, ultimately the student must stand (or sit) alone with the science fair judge and explain his/her project. If the student understands the project, the scientific method, and the ideas implicit in his/her project, this becomes readily apparent to the judge.

Students can’t fake their way through the science fair (at least at the elementary level from what I have observed) because they cannot have their parent do their oral presentation for them, or answer the questions posed by the science fair judge. Sure, they can copy and paste a lot of information from the web, print it out, and glue it to their showboard (and it is amazing how many kids and parents apparently think this should be an impressive activity worthy of recognition and reward)– but in the end the students have to stand on their own and answer the questions.

Personally, I love the science fair, and I hope my own children will choose to participate in it every year they can. The opportunity to experientially learn more about the scientific process, problem solving, and in-depth learning is priceless. Done well and correctly, I think science fair projects can result in learning experiences for students that are long lasting– indeed, that may last a lifetime.

We need to be requiring students at all levels to engage in activities and assessment tasks which similarly cannot be faked. This is called authentic assessment. It can be difficult, it can inspire complaints, it can be a lot “messier” than a twenty question multiple-choice test. But it can also be much more meaningful and worthwhile. And I have the view that we should be in schools and educational systems to engage in activities which matter.

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