University support for an annual Arizona science and engineering fair held in conjunction with the Polytechnic American Indian Programs office has hit an all-time high this year, according to AIP administration.
Philip Huebner, AIP director, said nearly every department on the Polytechnic Campus will be supporting the science fair — which begins Tuesday and runs through Friday — by sending faculty to act as judges, volunteers to help run the show or funds toward prizes. Huebner and the AIP staff did all of the event's planning and organizing.
Academic departments from the Polytechnic Campus will be forming the backbone of this year's Arizona Science and Engineering Fair, called AzSEF. The AzSEF is the state's premier annual science, technology, engineering and mathematics project competition for Arizona public school fifth- through 12th-graders.
More than 900 elementary, junior high and high school students from 179 schools across the state of Arizona will share and explore new ideas over the next four days at the fair, which will be located at the Phoenix Convention Center.
The featured projects will not just be your average volcano dioramas or models of the human brain, either. According to Huebner, projects are classified into one of 17 different categories ranging anywhere from microbiology to astronomy to computer sciences.
"The AzSEF gives students the opportunity to present their own research to professionals," Huebner said. "Throughout all my years in the educational system, I have never seen a project empower a student as much as their science fair project. Every student receives recognition for their research."
According to AzSEF's Web site, azsef.asu.edu/home.html, the science fair's most recent success story is eighth-grader Garrett Yazzie. Garrett's project, "Using Solar Energy to Heat Water," was the homemade creation of a window-size solar water heater that can be used to heat the water and air of the homes in his own Navajo Reservation community, many of which do not have running water or electricity.
His invention won first place in its category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May 2005 and gave him the opportunity to compete at the Discovery Channel Young Science Challenge in Washington, D.C., this past October.
In recognition and support of the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair, Gov. Janet Napolitano has proclaimed March to be Arizona Youth Science and Engineering Awareness Month.
Briana Gonzales, a student in Polytechnic's School of Education, Innovation and Teacher Preparation, is not involved in the science fair, but says she thinks it is important for schools to encourage exploration of sciences.
"Everyone thinks being a scientist just means being a doctor or working in a lab but there are so, so many different fields of science," Gonzales said. "A lot of schools just focus on the basics in order to get students to pass standardized tests, but students should be able to explore the areas that are interesting to them, whether it be geology or animals or computers."
Huebner said AIP has been recruiting student volunteers for the science fair, but that no students have showed any interest so far. He said all of the University support this year has been almost entirely from faculty and staff members.
To find out more information about the fair or to volunteer, visit azsef.asu.edu.
Reach the reporter at: kbielski@asu.edu.
