I’ve spent nearly 30 years as a scientist and I’ve always enjoyed giving back by sharing my love of STEAM — Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math — with the younger generation. When I was a young student, I participated in science fairs and was able to connect with adults in many fields. I learned about future careers and I asked questions, which is one of the reasons why I pursued a career in STEAM.
Start a degree in the School of STEM at American Public University. |
I remember that my science fair project, “The Absorption of Liquids by Paper Towels,” earned me a first-place ribbon and I was featured in the local newspaper. That moment was pivotal for my future STEAM career and fueled my love of STEAM at an early age.
Fast forward 30 years, and science fairs have evolved into STEAM fairs. The 2020 pandemic, however, has resulted in several STEAM fairs being canceled. But with the majority of public schools exercising virtual learning for nearly a year, there’s been an uptick in virtual STEAM fairs.
The significance of STEAM fairs should not be dismissed. These fairs are a great way to encourage tomorrow’s leaders to sharpen their presentation skills, obtain first-hand experience in research, and in some cases, receive scholarships and cash prizes.
What Is a STEAM Fair?
According to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, STEAM is “an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. The end results are students who take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process.”
STEAM fairs endow students with the ability to adapt, learn and master skills ranging from presentation skills to research skills.
Planning a STEAM Fair
Virtual STEAM fairs require a lot of planning. First, it’s important to establish the date to give the school, staff, volunteers and students enough time to prepare.
Second, starting the fair with a curriculum module on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math is important to establish a foundational understanding of the importance of asking questions, researching, and presenting results. STEAM fairs help teach the importance of the scientific method.
Third, establishing the requirements for fair projects is important too, which includes presenting the title, purpose, background, research methodology, hypothesis, variables, data, results and conclusion. These are all essential components of a STEAM research project and should be directly related to the evaluation rubric used by the judges.
Fourth, volunteers are essential for the fair’s success. Judges should be volunteers from a variety of backgrounds to maximize diversity, equity, and inclusion and reduce possible incidents of implicit bias.
Fifth, it’s important to have a different scoring scale based on the students’ grade because their skill level will evolve from 1st to 8th grade.
Sixth, a question-and-answer session helps highlight how much the student presenters have learned from the experience. Likewise, questions to the presenters should increase in difficulty as their grade level increases.
Virtual STEAM Fairs
How can STEAM fairs continue to thrive during the pandemic? While there are no nationwide mandates, many states and municipalities have required mask wearing, social distancing, and frequent hand washing over the past 12 months.
Also, large gatherings have been banned or highly discouraged, ending the possibility of large indoor STEAM fairs. I’ve witnessed three alternatives:
- A virtual STEAM fair with presentations in real time
- A virtual STEAM fair with pre-recorded presentations
- A real-time outdoor STEAM fair
Here are the pros and cons of each approach.
Option 1: A virtual STEAM fair with presentations in real time — A STEAM fair in real time takes significant planning to be successful. This approach works well if there are no technological challenges and if all volunteers can join at a set date and time.
Using a virtual platform with multiple functions is essential. Functions needed include the opportunity for breakout sessions, a chat function and the ability to record the session.
It is also an asset to have a technology support team to troubleshoot challenges in real time. In-person STEAM fairs give judges the opportunity to conduct a Q&A session and provide feedback in real time.
Option 2: A virtual STEAM fair with pre-recorded presentations — Virtual STEAM fairs can include future STEAMers with pre-recorded presentations. Then the presentations are available for the judges to review over the course of a week. This type of fair allows for more participation and reduces anxiety for future STEAMers so they do not feel anxious about presenting in real time.
Option 3: A real-time outdoor STEAM fair — The first day of spring is March 20. So as the weather warms for most of the U.S., ingenious school districts are thinking about taking their STEAM fairs outdoors. Following social distancing protocols, in-person STEAM fairs can be held in parking lots, athletic fields and other open spaces.
Virtual Awards Ceremony
No matter the type of event, it’s important to highlight the efforts of the future researchers, staff and volunteers. Most virtual awards ceremonies are held on a separate date, which gives the judges time to tabulate the results.
A simple acknowledgement, certificate, or in some cases, a monetary award can make the difference in a child choosing to pursue a STEAM career.
Awards have evolved to include verbal and written acknowledgements in newsletters, social media, local TV stations and newspapers. Awards can be given by grade, STEAM category, most unique research title and best overall presentation. In addition to a ribbon or trophy, winners may have expanded opportunities to compete at regional, national, and international levels, opening the horizons of tomorrow’s leaders.
STEAM fairs are essential to build a skillset that is sorely needed in the marketplace. These fairs are one way to encourage the pursuit of STEAM careers and to fill the gap between qualified candidates and emerging positions in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.
And, by the way, I still have my blue ribbon from my science fair. It is a constant reminder that dreamers are STEAMers.
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