January 2012
Discovering and Learning through Science Fair

Dear Middle School Parents,

It’s a great time of the year to be in the Middle School!  This week, the hallways are abuzz with the excitement of Harrisburg Academy’s Science Fair.  Students are able to proudly display months of hard work and learn from the research and experiments of their peers.  Science fair is meaningful for the Middle School because it gives us the opportunity to open our doors to parents, students from the Lower and Upper Schools, and others from our school community who visit and view the myriad of projects. 

To me, science fair is a celebration of creativity and learning.  Having worked both in schools that require science fair participation and those that do not, I feel that it is an invaluable activity.  One of the greatest skills we can teach students is how to be problem-solvers and self-reliant, and this project accomplishes these goals and more. 

The process of science fair begins with a question or a problem to solve.  From there, students use the resources of our library, online databases, and internet to learn more about their topics.  They learn to keep a detailed log of their activities and document every step of their scientific journey.

The learning benefits of the science fair process extend beyond science — science fair allows students to use lessons learned from other subjects and to apply them to their projects.  Drawing on their English class studies, students author a review of literature, abstract, and other written elements that allow them to flex their composition muscles.  Graphing work allows students to build upon the lessons gained in their math and computer classes.  This interdisciplinary approach is helpful for them as it allows them to better realize the connections between the various topics they study. 

Science fair also allows students to work with each learning style.  Whether a child’s preferred learning style is auditory, visual, or kinesthetic, there are portions of his or her project which build upon each skill set.  Students even get to practice their skills as public speakers while they present their research to their classmates. 

Perhaps my favorite part of science fair is knowing that not every project turns out the way a student believes it will.  Sometimes a hypothesis is proven to be wrong… which is great!  Making mistakes is a big part of the scientific process and learning.  Thomas Edison once famously said, “I have not failed.  I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”

We are so proud not only of our award winners honored this morning at our Science Fair Awards Assembly, but of all our students for their hard work.  Thank you to Mrs. Britton and Mrs. Shrikantia for their dedication in helping guide our students through their projects. 

Sincerely,
Stephen M. Fry, Ed.D
Assistant Head of School / Head of Middle School