Web site launches science fairs into the 21st century
January 5, 2010
By Chantelle Lusebrink
Anjali Goel, 7, holds a life-sized paper-mâché replica of a tyrannosaurus rex femur bone at Cascade Ridge Elementary School’s science fair last year. Contributed
Necessity is the mother of all invention. Those words couldn’t ring truer as Rajeev Goel, a parent and volunteer, took on the task of coordinating the Cascade Ridge Elementary School science fair last year.
Faced with mountains of paperwork — the result of hundreds of student entries, project synopses and classroom data — Goel said he quickly realized that while students may be presenting futuristic science projects, the science fair, and its coordination, was an archaic system.
“When I got into the science fair, I realized the organization of it was a challenge,” he said.
As coordinator, he said he wanted to see more students participate in the school’s optional science fair than ever before and thought the paperwork might be an obstacle.
A former Microsoft software developer, Goel said he knew exactly how to correct the problem.
“As a parent, the amount of time you take to fill out forms with the same information on them, year after year, adds up quickly. You get tired of it,” he said. “Like me, I figured there were a lot of parents that would rather fill it out online, since we’re on the computer so much anyway.
“So, I used my software expertise,” he added. “I thought, why not move the school forward and have a electronic-based Web site for it.”The Our Science Fair Web site went live for other schools in October.
It is a free Web site platform and tool that allows veteran or first-time school science fair coordinators to minimize paperwork, so they have time to focus on what’s important, ensuring a quality science fair that supports the students’ interests.
“Kids are the center of a science fair,” Goel said. “They learn a lot from their teachers, but this is something they get to choose, a project they want to do. When they do that, they get so much more out of the learning, they are often more excited and energized by it.”
“Our grades, in math and science are below standards as a state and as a nation,” said Nga Selbig, a parent and former coordinator at Cascade Ridge. “Anything that inspires them [students] to get involved and gets them excited about science is really important.”
Each school gets it own science fair Web page, where coordinators can publish information and details about the event.
Whether the school’s students are in elementary, middle or high school, the Web site is easy enough to be used by parents and students.
Students can use the Web site to enter their school’s fair and write their project synopsis.
In addition, going online with electronic documents cuts down paper waste associated with hand-written forms, Goel said.
Parents can also order supplies, like display boards, online. The orders also act as a school fundraiser. For every item sold from the Web site, the school’s association receives a portion of the money that a parent spends online.
The items are shipped directly to a family’s home or business address, and there’s no more running around to five craft stores to find an adequate display board.
“It’s a no-hassle fundraiser,” Goel said.
The Web site, like other networking sites, allows parents, students, coordinators and teachers to upload digital photos of science projects throughout their creation, and they can upload photos of the science fair with additional content, like a thank you letter, to the community or a list of winners.
“It’s absolutely inspiring to get organized, because all the tools are there,” Selbig said. “It makes it more interesting and exciting, because he’s made it accessible.
“It’s a very easy site to use, because it’s user friendly and kid friendly” with its simple wording, she said.
The Web site is secure and can only be accessed by members of the school community who have the username and passwords.
In all, more than 30 schools have looked at or started using the Web site, but that isn’t limited to just the Issaquah School District. Schools throughout the state and the nation can use the site for free. Goel said he has had science coordinators from the Kent School District, and as far away as Michigan, Arizona, New Jersey and New York, start using the site.
As for the turnout of last year’s Cascade Ridge science fair, of 604 students, 90 percent of them worked on a project last year, Goel said on the Web site. In previous years, the school hadn’t come close to that level of participation.
“I didn’t start it with the mindset that I’d explore an Internet startup in Seattle,” Goel said, but, “I knew that if Cascade Ridge had such a positive experience with it, there must be a demand out there.”
On the Web
http://oursciencefair.com
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Thank you very much to Rajeev Goel for building this wonderful web site and thanks to Issaquah Press for writing this article. Now, many schools’ organizer, especially elementary schools, can use this awesome cyber tool for the coming Science Fair season. I do think many Science Fair organizers want to do this way. However, there are many obstacles to go high tech. In my previous experience, sponsor, school or parents prefer to keep the old style. The reasons are: 1) Volunteers are unable to spend too much time to build or to learn the high tech tool. 2) Sponsors are worry about of a decrease of partcipants because many parents are likely to sign up their kids by paper form rather than electronic form. 3) It is commonly believe that the elementary students should focus on reading. In my opinion, we can use more high tech tool for organizing Science Fair if more daddies can volunteer their time in Science Fair.