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There has been so much coverage of the Intel International Science and
Engineering Fair over this past week and rightly so. But, I bet you
haven’t heard a first hand account of the science fair through the
eyes of an eighth grade field trip chaperone.
I volunteered to chaperone to see the highly anticipated experiments
and be impressed by the youth of today. At the mid-high early Friday
morning check-in, everyone was handed a blue Intel ISEF t-shirt. The
chaperones were given a list of students who had been assigned to
their groups. With my kids in tow, we boarded the buses for the quick
jaunt over to the Rail Runner station in Bernalillo. With an
opportunity for these students to attend Intel ISEF 2007 and ride the
Rail Runner, I say RRPS you’re the greatest.
I have chaperoned numerous elementary school field trips, but this was
my first mid-high excursion. Thank goodness they were all wearing
matching colored shirts. Keeping these fourteen year olds in a group
was like trying to corral kittens into a box. I had to stop myself
from shouting “We are not going any further until everyone finds a
buddy and sits down criss-cross applesauce.”
The exhibits were as impressive as you have heard. It was hard to
believe the experiments were conceived and executed by 15-18 year
olds. Students of all ages, teachers, chaperones and science buffs
were meandering through the exhibit hall taking in the various
projects.
It was easy to pick out the elementary school teachers; they were the
ones pointing to the displays saying to their Einsteins-in-training
“now notice the way the boards are put together.” Always priming those
young minds for their future; bless their hearts.
The chaperones were easy to spot. They were the ones with the frantic
look on their faces and maps under their arms. Every few minutes they
would scout their immediate area, wave their fingers in the air as if
conducting a symphony while mouthing the words “three, four, five,
six, seven. Yes!”
Students conducted original research and won contests at their
community levels on subjects ranging from animal science to physics
and astronomy. Melissa Hatch, a senior at Rio Rancho High School
earned a spot with her experiment: Porphyrin-Nanostructure Based
Water-Splitting Systems. She was one of three students from Rio Rancho
at the Intel ISEF 2007. Way to go, Rio!
We enjoyed our brown bag lunches outside on the plaza under the trees.
Lunchtime offered a glimpse into how eighth graders pass their free
time. Barely finished with their sandwiches, they began to look for
their friends in the sea of blue t-shirts. But did they get up and
walk around? No. They simply whipped out their cell phones and called
their friends.
“Hey, where are you sitting? Oh ya, I see you. I’ll be right over.” So
much for using old fashioned eye sight. Its just another example of
life in the fast lane.
Unlike the smooth Rail Runner ride on the way to the fair, good old
yellow school busses took us home. I stayed awake by dodging flying
science fair souvenirs on the trip back to the mid-high. I fulfilled
my chaperone duties and came away impressed with our next generation
of scientists and engineers.
We arrived safely back at school, tired and with a little brain
lateralization overload. See, I was paying attention to those
biochemistry exhibits. Parents, be proud of your kids, they were very
well behaved and motivated for next year’s fair.
Quote of the Week: “The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” -Albert Einstein
Jennifer Huard’s column appears each Thursday. She welcomes your
emails at jhuard@abqjournal.com.
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