I had a fascinating conversation with a student yesterday. Our Middle Schoolers are preparing for our in-house science fair (with a few selected to move on to regional competition), and this young lady wondered, “If I don’t plan to be a scientist, why should I have to do a science fair project?” Great question. At ISW, we actually encourage students to question us. (Sometimes this requires the adults to think harder than the students do.) While there are certainly many students for whom the science fair is the first step in a career in science, for many others, it isn’t really about the final product. It is about the process: creating the hypothesis, working out an appropriate procedure, collecting data, and drawing conclusions.
As adults, we use this process almost unconsciously. When we were about to renovate our house, for instance, I had to choose a paint for the kitchen. I checked out Sherwin Williams’ options and chose what I thought was the perfect green. However, I wanted to be sure we had the right color, so I got samples of several greens similar to the one I thought would be perfect. Then I painted big squares of color on sheets of heavy duty paper and carried them around the house to see the samples in different lights. I was surprised to find that my initial favorite wasn’t the one I liked best once the test panels were created. I asked each of my daughters and my husband to follow the same procedure and then to vote secretly. Amazingly, we each choose the same color. Was this science? No, definitely not. It was an exercise in aesthetics, probably closer to art. But it is still an excellent example of proceeding through a decision in a logical way—creating a hypothesis, collecting data, and drawing conclusions.
So, my precious Middle Schooler, do you really need to do a science fair project? Yes. You will use the skills you acquire in the process long after that trifold has turned to dust in the landfill.
Claire
January 16, 2014