1. U.S. Elementary Education : What Parents Need to Know
    Dismiss Notice

Science Fairs And Competitions For Kids - U.s.

Discussion in 'General Discussions - USA & Canada' started by Rihana, Sep 30, 2016.

  1. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,478
    Likes Received:
    30,213
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    Indian-American kids swarm White House Science Fair 2016 - The Times of India

    "a new cell phone security tool that records the distinctive arm and hand motions people use to lift a cell phone from a table",
    "how a particular protein could be used to detect and treat renal fibrosis",
    "how to shift acrolein's influence on the kidneys by using a particular protein as a therapeutic target",
    "solar-powered technology to rapidly remove bacteria from water",
    "His creation, VAXXWAGON, can effectively transport vaccines in the last leg of distribution without the use of ice and electricity"

    the above are by teenagers.

    If you are a parent in the U.S., and came to the U.S. as an adult, you go to school with your first born. : ) You learn all about phonetics.. and diphthongs, and you think you are set... then trigonometry and how it is taught in U.S. sneaks up on you.. you gamely plod along, then calculus. But, one thing that puzzles many parents is the incredibly impressive STEM projects that teenagers display in popular science fairs across the country.

    Share you questions about science fairs and projects in U.S. schools. Any experience or tips for parents of middle schoolers and high schoolers. How do the kids find mentors.

    How do these kids manage to accomplish so much in busy high school years - they do stuff that even a working adult might not be able to accomplish. How are the kids so motivated and adept at time management.
     
    Loading...

  2. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,478
    Likes Received:
    30,213
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    Tagging a few members I think might have direct inputs - @jskls @justanothergirl @JustAnotherMom @poovai @butterflyice and a few whose general opinion on the topic I'd like to read - @Viswamitra @Gauri03

    ============
    I've been to a few of these fairs, and the sheer enthusiasm, motivation and energy of the teenagers displaying their projects is something to behold. They are willing to answer questions of all kinds from curious parents. : ) Each one emphasized the importance of having a mentor - even if a remote one. Some got the mentor through school (usually private), and some sent out emails left and right to professors working on areas that interested them (the kid).
     
  3. JustAnotherMom

    JustAnotherMom Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,377
    Likes Received:
    2,455
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Female
    Wrong thread to be tagged :crybaby2:
     
  4. Laks09

    Laks09 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,682
    Likes Received:
    11,157
    Trophy Points:
    440
    Gender:
    Female
    @sokanasanah - you need to give some inputs here! I have a lot to say and will come back later and write about it.
     
    Rihana likes this.
  5. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,478
    Likes Received:
    30,213
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    I could actually say something like that for myself - wrong thread to start : ) My kids are just not into science fairs. Never participated even in elementary school unless the teacher made it mandatory.

    We mostly hear of only bio, medical and energy saving projects, but the categories are often more vast. Intel ISEF categories and subcategories

    For example, the Intel ISEF categories and subcategories Behavioral and Social Sciences category has topics that could appeal to high schoolers who like Psychology, or who wanted to but could not study that.
     
  6. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,959
    Likes Received:
    6,857
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Male
    Rushing about - I will let you do the honors!:lol:
     
    Laks09 and vaidehi71 like this.
  7. jskls

    jskls IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,896
    Likes Received:
    24,888
    Trophy Points:
    490
    Gender:
    Female
    @Rihana

    Though we have exposed our kids to science olympiads,( hands-on ) science clubs and science fairs haven't come across a mentor yet. I guess Mentor plays an important role and we at home are not scientists or work in that field. So offering guidance with little we know is a big challenge. This year if my elder one gets lucky it is possible she might get a mentor assigned. Keeping our fingers crossed. From what I have seen so far in major projects its the parents influence that is reflected in the process. There are kids who really do pretty well with school's help. I know a kid who went to Google Science fair and came in top 3. Not to mention that the parent was a scientist and also kid went to STEM school. So, its a combination of kids interest, parents push/knowledge and mentor's guidance that works.

    I was told that letting kids attend summer camps(STEM) in reputed institutions or doing internships in lab/research will provide a lead but to get into it is not easy!

    We are still learning:)
     
    KashmirFlower, Rihana and Gauri03 like this.
  8. justanothergirl

    justanothergirl IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,915
    Likes Received:
    7,188
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Female
    Sort of the wrong thread for me to be tagged in as well. :facepalm: I have been to a bunch of these science fairs synopsys/robotics/google etc etc and have been excited and intimidated all at once.:coldsweat:
    I even saw one where a 3rd grader dabbled on gene sequencing and one 6th grader write a complete commercial grade software which handled image recognition ....of very complex 3d objects..list is endless. :fearscream:It appeared for a while that we had a few thousand geniuses walking around elementary /middle schools inspite the claims from parents that they were only supporting.
    :shocked:
    The problem became so bad that our school district declared that there will no more prizes and only a participation certificate. :nono:It brought some sanity back and we started seeing more “how to create a volcano on ur table” and “how to get a light bulb to work using a lemon” kind of experiments….but the issue still exists in high school and other competitive fairs.:tongue:
    After a fair bit of digging ..found out while there are few kids and projects which were driven by kids…most were results of helicopter parents and mentors…spanning multiple years. Parents who were either in those industries or professors or had ways to get them or senior grad students to mentor .
    Not that its wrong…its great for kids and parents who enjoy that…… but it is not something I or DH are ready for.(I am open DH is firm on the no)

    Robotics is the same way. Its expensive. Most of these projects cost about $30,000 to $50,000. Large groups …heavy parental involvement. DS1 does not enjoy embedded programming either or handle large groups. I can technically find him a mentor . He is not interested. For now he enjoys math and music…so its olympiad/ AMCs and lots of music but he sets his pace and his goals and I truly only ferry him around. :thumbsup:
     
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2016
    Viswamitra, Laks09, vaidehi71 and 2 others like this.
  9. jskls

    jskls IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,896
    Likes Received:
    24,888
    Trophy Points:
    490
    Gender:
    Female
    well said :thumbsup:
     
    Rihana and justanothergirl like this.
  10. justanothergirl

    justanothergirl IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,915
    Likes Received:
    7,188
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Female

Share This Page