Science fairs have long been key entry points for youth to engage in STEM subjects (that’s science, technology, engineering and math) and have served as rites of passage for many of the greatest scientific minds. It was with some dismay that The Expositor noted an absence of Island Rainbow District School Board student projects at the recently held Sudbury Science Fair.
The first science fair was called The Children’s Fair and was held in 1928 at the American Institute in New York City with the stated goal of connecting students with nature.
Science fairs steadily expanded from there to include diverse scientific topics including physics, engineering, astronomy and biology. By the end of World War II, science fairs had a new purpose: grooming the scientists of the future.
For 50 years the Sudbury Regional Science Fair has been doing just that.
Manitoulin Island’s scientific chops have been well demonstrated over the years, including competing favourably at both the national and international level in the Science Olympics and, most recently, the stellar work being done by the Island’s budding young engineers and scientists in the realm of robotics.
It is puzzling, therefore, to discover no Island students competing in the board level runoffs to take part in the Sudbury Regional Science Fair. There are three boards that send students to the competitions, but only one, the Rainbow District School Board, serves Manitoulin. Those schools outside of those boards can also register projects to compete. So, what gives?
Given the focus that is being given to promoting student success in the STEM fields in Ontario schools these days, it would be sensible to expect that Island students would be front and centre in any regional science fair.
The interest being expressed by students in the various robotics teams at Island schools makes it clear that Island students are engaged in the STEM fields that underpin science fairs. It begs the question, ‘why are they not at the science fairs?’
When the old Manitoulin School Board was subsumed into the Rainbow District School Board there were concerns that the distances between schools under the new board would see Manitoulin’s students shortchanged when it came to participation in intermural sports and other interactions. In the realm of sports, Island athletes have continued to make strides at regional, provincial and national levels, despite the distances involved—just as they have done in a number of academic fields (the aforementioned robotics and Science Olympiads a case in point).
An Island-wide science fair is something that would make sense and help to promote interest in the sciences, which, sadly, have taken a bit of a public relations hit from being caught up in the various COVID pandemic conspiracy theories and mandate pushbacks and the climate change denialism.
Our lives have been made measurably better through advancements in science and science provides the best case hope in meeting the challenges we are currently facing due to human impacts on the Earth’s environment (which are fast becoming existential threats to humanity’s very existence).
When it comes to making the world a better (and safer) place, it is patently clear that we need all minds on deck. Science fairs are often where sparks ignite into full blown careers in the sciences, we need to encourage participation as much as possible.
