BELLEVUE, WASH. — Eighty of King and Snohomish counties’ brightest and most inventive high school students will compete March 12 in Bellevue College’s Central Sound Regional Science and Engineering Fair on the college’s main campus.
The 9th to 12th grade student participants from public, home and private schools, working alone or in teams of two, conduct independent research in one of 17 science, math and engineering categories.
Projects will be evaluated for creativity, depth of content, thoroughness and clarity, and other criteria by local science and engineering professionals.
The student with the highest overall score will win an all-expenses-paid trip to represent the Central Puget Sound Region at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Los Angeles, Calif., May 8-13.
Students who wish to take part can register online at http://scidiv.bellevuecollege.edu/sami/scifair/. Registrations are being accepted through March 2.
The public is invited to view the projects and submit their votes for the “People’s Choice Award” from noon to 1 p.m. March 12 in Bellevue College’s C Building (next to the fountain on the main concourse).
Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony at 2 p.m. Up to 50 additional category awards and special prizes will also be awarded during the ceremony.
Last year’s winner, Katy McClintic, from Cedarcrest High School in Duvall, went on to win the Silver Award at the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair.
The purpose of the fair, now in its second year, is to encourage local K-12 students in their studies of science, technology, engineering and math, and to explore career opportunities in technical fields.
Intel ISEF is the world’s largest pre-college science competition, annually drawing over 1,500 students from 40 counties.
Bellevue College welcomes public support for prizes and other aspects of the annual Central Sound Regional Science and Engineering Fair. To learn how you can become involved, please visit http://scidiv.bellevuecollege.edu/sami/scifair/getinvolved.
For further information about the fair, contact Kate Souza at kathryn.souza@bellevuecollege.edu or (425)564-3055. Bellevue College’s main campus is located at 3000 Landerholm Circle S.E., Bellevue, at the intersection of S.E. 28th St. and 148th Ave. S.E.
ABOUT SAMI
The Bellevue College Science and Math Institute, or SAMI, was launched in 2008 to interest students of all ages in science and mathematics, on the college campus and in the surrounding community. Its activities range from “Science to Go” programs that bring hands-on science to middle- and elementary-school classrooms, to free community planetarium shows and an annual, one-week Summer Science Camp for 5th and 6th-graders.
For further information about SAMI, email kathryn.souza@bellevuecollege.edu or phone (425) 564-3055.
ABOUT BELLEVUE COLLEGE’S SCIENCE DIVISION
Serving more than 20,000 students each year, Bellevue College’s Science Division offers a comprehensive curriculum of more than 100 courses within four general program areas: engineering, life sciences, mathematics and physical sciences. Highly unusual for a two-year college, the Division engages students in ongoing, original genomic research. Students in the project, known as ComGen, are analyzing the genetic makeup of a bacterium that has not yet been studied anywhere else in the world, but holds the potential to protect wheat and barley from root disease.
The college’s science facilities include its new, three-story, 64,000 square-foot S Building, which houses five high-tech classrooms, 16 advanced laboratories and a Science Study Center.
Another key asset is the college’s Willard Geer Planetarium, the only planetarium in the region to use the advanced, computer-based Digistar 3 system to project and move images. The 60-seat planetarium is almost constantly in use as a college classroom or a field-trip destination for 1,600 K-12 students each year.
For further information about the planetarium or the college’s Science Division, call 425-564-2321.
