The State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa will bring student-researchers from all over Iowa to Hilton Coliseum on Thursday and Friday. Larger image. Photo by Dan Welk of Click! Photography.
AMES, Iowa – It was spring break week at Grundy Center Middle School. And yet there were 15 or so students in Heather Gutknecht’s science classroom for a few hours each and every weekday afternoon.
Gutknecht, who teaches sixth grade physical science and eighth grade earth science, is bringing 33 students to the annual State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa on Thursday and Friday, March 27 and 28, at Iowa State University’s Hilton Coliseum. A record-breaking 700-plus students from across the state have registered for the fair.
Rob Gingery, the school’s seventh grade life science teacher, is bringing another nine students.
All those Grundy Center students are going to be ready to show judges and the curious public their research into everything from energy efficiency, quail hatching, magnetic currents and air pressure.
“It’s amazing to see where they start with their projects and where they are at the end,” said Gutknecht, who also serves on the board and is assistant director of the state science and technology fair. “This year we had a lot of students doing outstanding projects.”
The public is invited to take a look at those projects during the science and technology fair’s public hours:
- Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum for all exhibits
- Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for junior high exhibits displayed on the Hilton floor and 2:30 to 6 p.m. for senior high exhibits displayed on the Hilton concourse
- The fair’s award ceremony is 7 p.m. Friday at Hilton.
This year there’s also a State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa STEM Night from 4 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday at Ames High School. The new event will showcase science and technology and help students use multimedia tools to present their research projects. The event is free and open to the public.
Gutknecht said she brings a busload of science students to Ames because the science and technology fair is a good, hands-on way to teach inquiry and the scientific process. Plus, she said, it builds student confidence and helps students meet like-minded peers.
And, she said her students are well aware the science and technology fair is in the home of a basketball team that’s still competing in the NCAA tournament. So, “They are excited to be in Hilton Coliseum.”
Andrea Spencer, a program specialist for Iowa 4-H Youth Development and director of the state science and technology fair, is excited to see the fair attracting more than 700 students for the first time. Those students will compete for more than $70,000 in prizes and scholarships.
Major sponsors of the fair include Iowa State, the Iowa Energy Center, the Iowa Biotechnology Association and the Iowa Space Grant Consortium.
