If science is the wave of the future, then science fairs could be considered the ripple that triggers the tide.
From ideas born in projects that tap the imagination and innovation of the young minds grow long-term commitments to understand the world of science and make the pursuit of knowledge a career ambition.
For scientific-minded northern B.C. students, the chance to show they have the right stuff will happen today at the UNBC Bentley Centre, site of the 36th annual Central Interior Science Exhibition (CISE).
Students in the Prince George, Vanderhoof and Quesnel school districts have entered 109 projects in the day-long event for the chance to win prize money and scholarships and the chance to compete in the Canada-wide science fair.
"What I like about science fair is it generates an interest in science and technology and sometimes it gets kids started on a career in science, and that's exciting to see," said Anjula Corbin, the CISE co-ordinator.
The B.C. government declared the 2010-11 school year the Year of Science, in recognition of labour market forecasts that highlight the need for post-secondary studies in math, sciences, engineering and other technologies to train people to fill three-quarters of the job openings expected through the end of the current decade.
"It seems like people are steering away these days from science and technology, maybe because it requires math," said Corbin.
"But in addition to the science aspect, I like the science fair because it develops all-around skills. It involves public-speaking, creating visual displays and even the computer technology of developing graphs that develop job skills."
This year, a B.C. Innovation Council cash prize of $2,000 will be awarded to a Grade 11 or 12 of the CISE project presenters, unlike previous years, when candidates from the Central Interior had to compete for that prize against other regional science fair winners.
Science fairs are not mandatory, and only a handful of Prince George schools make them a requirement for all students. However, Corbin, the principal of Malaspina elementary school in College Heights, encourages all her students to develop science projects for competitions at the school. Since the teachers' job action of 2002, organizers of the regional event no longer made it a qualifying criteria for students to first compete within their own schools and in zone events.
"We thought it might lower the quality of projects that come to the fair or if we'd even have enough people who would meet the criteria to go to the nationals, but it didn't lower the quality at all," said Corbin.
"Scientific process is part of the curriculum at almost every grade level and science fair is an excellent vehicle for carrying out the curriculum. It gives kids an opportunity to explain what they've done."
Corbin pointed to the success of Westside Academy students Ashley Anderson and Forrest Tower, whose work in applying biofuel technology to Third World countries earned them a bronze medal last month at the Taiwan International Science Fair.
One of Corbin's all-time favourite projects is a CISE winner in 2010 from Emily O'Reilly, now a Grade 9 student at College Heights secondary school, that studied the levels of bacteria on household surfaces. That was good enough to send O'Reilly to the national science fair in Toronto, and it left an indelible impression on Corbin.
"I learned that the dishcloth is probably the most germ-laden thing in your house and that kitchens have more germs than bathrooms, so I'm careful to change my dishcloth daily," said Corbin.
