Today I had the awesome privilege of getting to judge at an 8th grade science fair! I got roped into the job by being friends with a Chicago native who ran into another Chicago native at a bar and is now a school teacher… after learning that I too have a science background, I had my invitation.
Arriving at the school and looking around the classrooms was a pretty nostalgic trip. There were maps of the U.S. from different eras, a big box that said “I was absent.” to turn in homework, 50+ battered copies of the same book, and a gigantic chalkboard with assignments written on it. It was great to pass the biology classroom, it had a bunch of half-finished experiements on the long black tables, plants growing in terrariums under spotlights, and diagrams of biological structures tacked up on the walls.
The fair itself was fantastic! I had three students to judge and I was really impressed by their presentations. At this level you can still see the bare structure they make their speeches from, the basic science behind their theories, and the data processing they crunch out to make multiple graphs. Some were more enthusiastic than others, some had more background knowledge, but all were entertaining and fun. In the end, there is no “winner,” it was more of a learning day for them, to research a topic, perform an experiment, prepare a poster, and finally to give an oral presentation.
I’m not gonna lie, my favorite presentation was a girl who washed her hands with different soaps and cultured what remained on her hands. When I got assigned to her, I was so excited! Me, a girl with a B.S. in Microbiology about to graduate from medical school judging something that combines my 2 scientific strengths!!! In a way, I was jealous of them, having so much cool stuff to learn in their futures! Part of me wishes I could go back to high school and learn biology all over again 🙂
The Inspired Dr.Mom 