science fair

Well this past weekend my life came full circle as I became part of the Blue Ribbon Senior Division Lafayette Reigional Science and Engineering Fair. I must say things are quite different when the tables are turned. You stand there as a contestant for what seems like an endless amount of time waiting on judges to come and speak with you as a student. You eye the other contestants thinking they had more judges or there judges stayed longer. When on the flip side you try to time yourself in order to give each contestant an equal amount of time. Although I must say there were quite a few projects that were very lacking and one could tell were solely done for the ten extra credit points probably given out for attending the fair. They should be embarrassed some of them, but alas I guess it won't matter to anyone, but them in the long run. Others were quite impressive and I kept thinking back if I knew as much as them when I was their age (which yes was ten + years ago now). I miss the excitement and grandiose ideas you have then...you know...with further studies we can find a way to regenerate spinal cords and limbs, or we can find a way to prolong life, and cure cancer......save the human race. Can you believe I thought that was once true, until I have now had all the dreams and aspirations crushed by a brutal, cold graduate education.

Well anyways, alas I vote yes to actually coming up with your own ideas and testing them at your school and no to working at a university and presenting data from experiments that were the ideas of some professor and the data that was more than likely collected for the most part by a graduate student or with a graduate student watching your every move. OK....so if and let me say IF you understand the data/work then maybe...well actually even then I vote no! Why not give a presentation award then actually a science award. Learn how to come up with scientific questions and use the old Sci. method to solve these. !!!!! Long live the project born out of a high school classroom after school!!!!! I digress.

Congrats to the winners! Good luck at State and International!!!
http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080309/NEWS04/803090358/1141/NEWS