In first grade, my teacher thought I was pretty hot stuff when I made an electromagnet by wrapping a wire around a nail and hooking it up to a D battery. Sadly, my third-grade teacher wasn’t as impressed when I tried the same project again. Just because I reached my scientific peak at seven years old, that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in what kids with serious scientific aptitude can do. That’s why I’m excited about the North Carolina Science and Engineering Fair, March 28, 2009 at Meredith College in Raleigh.
Of course, to qualify for the state science fair, your kids will first have to drop some science at a regional fair. Click here to find out which region your students will compete in. Take note: each region has its own due dates/application deadlines, so be sure to double-check so your students can procrastinate plan effectively.
Now is a great time for your students to brainstorm projects. You might also peruse the list of winners to see the sorts of projects that impress the judges. Entries like, “Application of a Humpback Whale Fin Morphology to a Standard Airfoil: Revolutionizing Slow Flight Aerodynamics” are pretty impressive. D-battery electromagnet? Not so much. -BILL FERRIS
North Carolina Science and Engineering Fair
Related Stuff:
Post student science experiments online at TestToob
Easy-to-do experiments for the science fair
Celebrate weird science with the Ig Nobel Awards
Photo credit: xmatt on flickr
