Making the Grade: Sci-Tech High School Hosts Debut Science Fair
A typical science fair brings to mind rambunctious elementary schoolers excitedly presenting homemade volcanoes spewing vinegar lava. But last week, the halls of Sci-Tech High School hosted a decidedly more advanced exhibition.
Sophisticated trifold poster boards lined the gymnasium, showcasing the critical thinking and creativity of STHS’s best and brightest.
From renewable energy solutions to bee population studies, these scholar-scientists tapped into skill sets far beyond baking soda construction projects.
The inaugural STHS Science Fair challenged students to produce compelling experiments across scientific disciplines — and attendees of all ages were impressed by the captivating displays and sharp young minds on view.
Overcoming Obstacles to Launch the First Science Fair
So, how did this even get started?
The STHS Science Fair began, as many great initiatives do, with a simple idea. Planning for Sci-Tech High’s first science fair began last October when Senior Curriculum Manager Dawn Fair and Chief Academic Officer Susan Pommerening proposed the idea.
They saw it as an opportunity for students to earn recognition and scholarship money. “Our Science Curriculum Lead viewed this as a chance for scholars to earn money for college,” explained science teacher Ms. Santos, who helped lead planning efforts.
Transforming the idea into reality proved challenging given the short timeline and initial lack of resources.
The first issue for the fair was supplies. To get what we needed, Ms. Fair traveled statewide securing supplies and materials and Mr. Sosa donated supplies.
Another issue getting the fair underway was the limited printing capacity. Since STHS lacked the printing budget to print items for more than 100 posters, many teachers and staff had to improvise.
To resolve this, STHS did what it often does — it improvised.
This involved STHS admin stepping in to print color photos and some teachers allocating personal supplies to get scholars what they needed.
According to Ms. Santos,
“ I was able to purchase suspiciously inexpensive off-brand toner for my personal printer and have been printing everything on that as we were not provided with a printing budget to print over 100 posters that [were] required by the network. Color photos [were] printed by admin, but Ms. Topsy and Ms. Collins had a really rough time getting them from the front office on Friday because they [often] had their own tasks.
While printing was one hill to get over, another was getting everything organized.
Participating science teachers — Ms. Santos, Ms. Collins and Ms. Topsy — are reported to have worked non-stop starting from the end of October to get this event planned.
When asked about how big the task was, Ms. Santos said.
“This has been a Herculean task since nearly every single scholar in our school is participating and we have not been given extra time or resources as teachers.”
When asked about what kind of planning went into this event, Ms. Santos went on to say “ We quickly pivoted and decided what would be most encouraging for the scholars. We then realized we had to do it on our own because there wasn’t any real guidance for something of this magnitude at a secondary school level. So it was a lot of backwards planning, envisioning the end result and figuring out the checkpoints to get there.”
Santos also pointed out that preparing in class frequently involved reminding scholars of the importance of this project. “We used digital tools to track progress and give feedback. Regular communication between our admin team and parents was a must.”
Teachers weren’t the only ones involved in the event’s development. Some scholars had a special hand in the event’s planning.
When the school could not provide a budget for awards, two juniors, Audri and Deya, took it upon themselves to create a GoFundMe campaign raising money for customized medals and trophies.
Audr said the following when asked about the fundraising.
““I had heard that the science fair was created on a whim and that it was created with no resources. My first thought was what about the kids who don’t have money themselves. We were joking about it at first, but felt that a GoFundMe was needed.”
She went on to add the following regarding supplies.
“We wanted 3000 for the event. I knew it was an ambitious number at the time, we really needed printers and supplies in general. Even though we didn’t hit 3000, we raised a lot — enough for the metals. This helped show students that the teachers and families care about them.”
Because of their work, their Science Fair fundraising campaign was enough to obtain trophies for 16 proposed categories and get some much-needed Science Fair Supplies.
Showcasing Projects in the Gymnasium
Students were able to work across grades and class, allowing for more creativity and freedom.
The fair itself spanned over two and a half hours in the school gymnasium. Students showcased projects analyzing concepts like renewable energy, engineering, and sustainability.
Each participant created colorful trifold poster boards detailing their hypothesis, methodology, findings, and conclusions.
Judges including staff, parents, and students themselves voted on projects in 16 different categories. Impressively, instead of pitting underclassmen against upperclassmen, the science department purposefully created groups with a mix of grades.
“We thought that would make it more collaborative and allow for creativity,” said Ms. Santos.
For most students, the science fair marked their first exposure to higher level scientific analysis and felt positive about the event.
Senior Daisy Pacheco called it “a great experience that taught me a lot about the scientific process.”
Haannia Salazar expressed the following:, “I felt this was hectic because we had a lot of IB work going on, but I learned how sensitive internal parts of some devices can be and this was an overall great experience.”
Among other classmen, similar sentiments were felt.
Sophomore scholar Audri had the following to say about the event mixed with some concerns about how it was implemented.
“I am glad we ended up getting [a science fair]. I felt it was very ambitious, but we needed funding to be realistic. We made due, but financially/timewise it should have been better planned. Still, this was an event that I thought brought us a sense of community and worth and I am grateful for that.”
Junior, Angel C. said that “It was okay […] I enjoyed doing the experiment and was excited to see the results of our work.”
Junior, Aracely A., said that she felt the event was “Okay, but it was tough with some scholars who had to do work over break. I was out of the country over the break and so, it was tough for me to work while abroad. Still, I think overall it was a pretty decent experience and I enjoyed it.”
One scholar found the even so rewarding that he planned to take it the next level.
Scholar, Jeff Rodríguez had elected to compete at the regional level Texas Science and Engineering (GARSEF )Fair in March and bring his work to more eyes.
In this project, Jeff plans to continuing to show others his research on the best way to circumvent luminol when cleaning a crime scene.
“I hoped to see if there was anything that catalyzed better than luminol. This kind of research could be used to better improve different autopsies and infestations. Next year I hope to do something with plant life.”
Amongst teachers, many were very satisfied with the Science Fair while also noting some rough edges to smoothen for future fairs.
IB Math teacher, Ms. Flores said that “It was great to see everyone do a project. My favorite part was seeing people’s different interests and how they explored different topics.”
She added, “I think in the future we can encourage students to strengthen their hypotheses and decorations even further.”
Financial literacy teacher Ms. Jorgenson had the following to say about the event: ‘
I think it went well for our school’s first science fair. I am looking forward to another one in the future. I think for the future, it would be useful if scholars had more time to work on projects. These projects needed a certain amount of time and it could have been better organized, but with the resources the science team had, I think they did an exceptional job.
Next Year’s Science Fair
Based on reactions so far, the STHS science fair likely represents the first of many to come.
Ms. Santos confirmed in an interview that network administrators Dawn Fair and Susan Pommerening had already decided to make participation an annual requirement and plans are in mind for the 2025–2026 Science Fair.
When asked what she would like to see change next year, Ms. Santos said increased financial support, better communication with parents, and tighter integration into course syllabi topped her list.
However, she emphasized, with pride, in how smoothly this year unfolded thanks to hard work and flexibility from both teachers and scholars saying:
“ I hope they will see how smart and creative they are and realize that they have the ability to create something and win. I am hoping that the medals they earn could even be part of their graduation regalia. Each medal is engraved with the year and category, so we thought it would [be] neat if a scholar won for multiple years they could wear them around their neck when graduating. Just another way to make our school live up to the Sci-Tech name :)”
One thing not likely to change is the communal spirit the science fair seems to have awakened.
Mr. Sosa personally plans a special awards rally to recognize winners.
With its first fair in the books, Sci-Tech High School seems to have succeeded in creating a uniquely collaborative and uplifting brand of science education.
If this year’s inaugural event provides any indication, STHS may soon establish itself as a trendsetting STEM school producing talented scientists for years to come.
For now, administrators, teachers, parents, and students alike can all feel proud of the grades they earned for this first successful year’s event.
STHS Science Dept Extends Special Thanks To
Ms. Topsy and Ms. Aliyah Collins for being the drill sergeants they needed to be to get the job done.
Dr. Corona for supporting our vision and allowing us to make this our own.
Mr. Sosa for being caring and supportive and planning a Science Fair during the school day and a special Awards Rally!
Audri Lule and Deya Rodriguez for creating the GoFundMe campaign.
Mr. Hoffman for donating the final $20 needed to cover costs for the awards.
Crown Awards for providing quality awards at a great price.
Jeff Rodriguez Valdez for being our first participants in GARSEF regional competition.
All of the teachers and scholars who attended the fair and voted for the “Teacher’s Choice” and “Scholar’s Choice” Awards. We look forward to this to becoming a school-wide event that will continue to encourage our scholars for years to come.
Written by Aracely A., Ashley P. & Mr. Jasso.
