Members of FRIAM-- If you're sometimes weary of agonizing over deep meanings, say, of emergence--the definition, the process, the concept, the philosophy, the fantasy, the gospel--I have an offer. Join a bunch of us in Santa Fe to be judges at school science fairs. They're a quick and refreshing trip back to simpler topics, and they're fun. Really.
The Santa Fe Alliance for Science (http://www.sfafs.org/) supplies volunteer judges for science fairs in Santa Fe area elementary and middle schools (some FRIAMers are already volunteers). Last year 32 of our volunteers looked at and talked with nearly 2000 students at 24 different science fairs. Partly as a result of the SFAFS effort over the past several years, the number of schools with science fairs has increased steadily (more than doubled the number of schools in four years, with three more schools already added for this year). The students, and their families, are tremendously impressed that "real" scientists are coming to talk with them and judge their projects. This seems to elevate the science fairs above everyday school activities, something inspirational for the kids and validating for the teachers. Science fairs are a mixed bag in terms of quality of projects, and some of us try to improve them by meeting with teachers and, sometimes, students in advance to offer some guidelines for what is a science project or experiment. My opinion is that we can guide the students to think critically about what constitutes reasonable proof of cause and effect, a useful outcome that is distinct from any particular knowledge gained about science. Whether or not the students become scientists or engineers, they all can benefit from knowing more about scientific thinking. Judging at a fair takes about 2-3 hours, usually during school hours. We work with a simple, standardized scoring sheet, and at the end we compare and rank the projects we thought were best. The winners compete for cash prizes in March at a system-wide science fair. We need more judges to volunteer because the demand is growing. If you're at all interested, send me a response at bruce...@gmail.com and I'll add you to the email list. As they say in the ads, there's no obligation. You'll get information about fairs as they're scheduled (Nov through March) and can volunteer if you have some time. If you're unsure about how it works, you can shadow another judge for ten or twenty minutes to get a feel for the process. The schools are grateful, and it's a satisfying community service. And, yes, you're all smart enough to talk to elementary school kids. --Bruce Abell, SFAFS judge recruiter -- Bruce Abell 7 Morning Glory Santa Fe, NM 87506 Tel: 505 986 9039
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