South Fayette science fair brings together students
Jacob Calvin Meyer/The Almanac
South Fayette youngsters control a mini motorized device made by South Fayette High School students.
Jacob Calvin Meyer/The Almanac
An underwater device made by students at South Fayette High School.
To some students, science can be difficult, confusing or boring.
In recent years, the South Fayette School District has made STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning a priority in all of its schools.
To piggyback off the district’s initiatives, the South Fayette Elementary Parent Teacher Association hosts a voluntary Science and Invention Fair. On Nov. 16, 165 K-5 students gathered on South Fayette’s campus to show off their experiments and inventions. Alongside the younger students were a group of South Fayette middle school and high school students, who came to the event as part of a class assignment to teach the “junior scientists” what they’re learning in their science classes.
Jen Iriti, the retiring chairperson of the PTA-sponsored Science and Invention Fair and a South Fayette school board member, said having academic-centered extracurricular activities is important to foster enthusiasm regarding academics.
Jacob Calvin Meyer/The Almanac
Jacob Calvin Meyer/The Almanac
South Fayette High School students making homemade lava lamps with the young students.
“Students have total choice about whether they participate and to follow their passions or interests in what topic they explore either through the topic or experiment. That student choice and to have an extracurricular activity that is very academic focused is a very important message to the community that academics is also recreation,” Iriti said. “For many of us, doing these kinds of things are fun, and we choose to do it.”
Iriti said the fair used to be just a science fair, but when the invention component was added two years ago, more students attended.
“When we added the invention piece a few years ago, the enthusiasm went through the roof,” Iriti said. “I think that type of project is much more open ended and has much more student choice and creativity, and it builds off what’s going on in the classroom.”
Iriti said one of her favorite parts about the event is the learning the younger kids receive from the older students.
Nazish Habib, a physics teacher at South Fayette High School, brought her class to the event to teach the junior scientists physics.
“(My students) love to explain these concepts to the junior scientists,” Habib said. “It’s challenging to them. … Physics can be explained to anybody. They really have to try to wrap their heads around how to explain this in a way the junior scientists can understand. And they figure it out.”
Habib said the event is good for the future of STEAM learning at South Fayette.
“The younger kids here, they really look up to the older kids,” Habib said. “When they see all of this really neat equipment being brought to life, they’re able to keep some of that childlike wonder with them and hopefully they’ll carry that with them as they move up and not lose that sense of wonder.”
Neha Joshi and Ruthvik Panda, seniors in Habib’s AP Physics class, both remember the event when they were younger and what it meant to them then.
Jacob Calvin Meyer/The Almanac
Jacob Calvin Meyer/The Almanac
A high school student teaches a younger South Fayette student about angular momentum.
“I’ve seen this event grow so much,” Panda said. “I remember being here when I was younger. It’s only gotten better.”
Panda said teaching physics concepts to the junior scientists is difficult, but it helps him learn himself.
Jacob Calvin Meyer/The Almanac
Jacob Calvin Meyer/The Almanac
Neha Joshi, a senior at South Fayette, demonstrates how the centrifugal force that keeps the water in the a cup as Joshi swings it over her head.
“It’s much harder to teach to little kids,” he said. “We had assignments in class to learn how to represent them in a much easier way.”
Joshi taught kids about different types of forces and gravity during the common upside down water-bucket experiment. She said it’s important to teach kids at a young age how science and physics “applies in everyday life.”
Jacob Calvin Meyer/The Almanac
Jacob Calvin Meyer/The Almanac
A high school student shows elementary school students how momentum effects speed.
Along with Habib, South Fayette High School teachers Brian Garlick, Lyndsy Grinko, Tomasina Crapis and Stephanie Gutshall.
“I love (the event) because here science is coming alive and everybody can show their love for science,” Habib said. “The older kids are teaching the younger kids, and us as teachers, we can see the fruits of our labor.”