Student-Led Research on Display at Wyoming State Science Fair March 5-7 at UW

The annual Wyoming State Science Fair for middle and high school students once again is coming to the University of Wyoming campus March 5-7.

Qualified Wyoming students from 21 communities will showcase their original science research and will compete for award monies and chances to advance to further competitions at the national and international levels. Student research may cover areas as diverse as mathematics, environmental management, behavioral and social science, animal science and chemistry.

“I am really thrilled to see some very dedicated young scientists registered for this year,” says Erin Stoesz, Wyoming State Science Fair director. “It is exciting to see precollege students beginning their research as early as May, seeking out mentors and building on previous years’ research as continuation projects.”

Students competing this year will be welcomed by UW President Ed Seidel, and they also will participate in planetarium shows and enrichment activities. Teachers will take tours of campus science facilities. All competitors will make “brag buttons” with UW’s Wyrkshop and have an opportunity to meet fellow competitors, Stoesz says.

“In addition to our many award donors, judges from UW and the Rocky Mountain region will be in attendance,” Stoesz says. “The one-on-one dialogues student competitors have with professional scientists during the private interview judging can be a tremendously rewarding experience for judges and competitors alike.”

The public is invited to view the student research displays after the competition in the Wyoming Union Ballroom during public viewing times Monday, March 6, from 1:15-9 p.m. and talk to the student competitors from 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Students represented will be from the following schools and hometowns: Beacon Classical/Cody; Big Piney Middle School/Big Piney and LaBarge; Central High School/Cheyenne; Cody Middle School; CY Middle School/Casper; East High School/Cheyenne; Greybull High School/Greybull and Basin; Hobbs Elementary School/Cheyenne; and Kemmerer Junior-Senior High School/Kemmerer and Diamondville.

Also, students represented will be from: Lander Middle School; Lander Valley High School; Laramie High School; Laramie Middle School; Meeteetse schools; Pinedale Middle School/Pinedale, Boulder and Daniel; Pioneer Park Elementary/Burns; Powell Middle School; Rawlins High School; Riverside Middle School/Basin; and Tongue River Middle School/Dayton, Parkman and Ranchester.

For more information about science fair competitions in Wyoming, email Stoesz at wyostatefair@gmail.com.