Hundreds of students to participate in 20th Annual Spearfish Middle School Science Fair at BHSU

Black Hills State University will host the 20th Annual Spearfish Middle School Science Fair Thursday, Feb. 11 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Donald E. Young Center. Middle school students will share their projects on biology, physical science, social science, and engineering. The event is open to the public.

More than 450 middle school students will exhibit their science knowledge at Black Hills State University Thursday, Feb. 11 during the 20th Annual Spearfish Middle School Science Fair held at the Donald E. Young Center.

Dr. Charles Lamb, chair of the School of Natural Sciences and professor of biology at BHSU, said the Science Fair started 20 years ago as a BHSU student project.

"Over the past 20 years, science fairs have moved from demonstrations to real scientific projects where student propose a hypothesis and then test that hypothesis with experimentation," said Lamb, also the organizer of the Science Fair. "It is designed to teach students how to think scientifically, and how science is a unique way of thinking."

The Science Fair will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with judging sessions from 8:30 a.m to 10 a.m. for 6th grade, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. for 7th grade, and 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. for 8th grade. Students will be at their posters during their assigned judging time.

The Science Fair is open to the public. Lamb said the Science Fair has grown to include all science teachers and middle school students. Homeschool students are also invited to attend. By the time students move on to high school they will participate in three Science Fairs.

The students' projects are organized into one of four categories: biology, physical science, social science, and engineering.

"The projects can be anything from plant growth, student behavior, animal genetics, acid strength, structural materials- it's really up to the students' imagination," said Lamb.

The Science Fair is sponsored by the BHSU School of Natural Sciences and the BHSU Health Sciences Student Organization.