The time to show your interests is coming. Do you want to research on water treatment to help aquatic animals? Do you like to do experiments with different kinds of substances? The Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair may be the perfect opportunity to show your passion for STEM.

To support young students’ interest in careers in science and engineering, the Connecticut Science Fair Association holds the CT Science and Engineering Fair annually at Quinnipiac University during March, providing opportunities to interact with engineers and scientists. 

This year, the event will be held from March 14 to 19. Many middle school and high school students will gather at the fair to present the results of their science projects in various categories. This contest grants many prizes and is one of the gateways to more notable events, such as Intel ISEF, Broadcom MASTERS, and GENIUS Olympiad.

To register as a participant or a group, a maximum of three students need to draft a proposal of what topic they are going to work on and what method they will use to tackle the problem. If the project has to experiment with live subjects, like humans or vertebrate animals, approval from the IRB (Institutional Review Board) or SRC (Scientific Review Committee) is required before beginning the project. 

Additionally, if the research contains a survey, students must get permission from the people whom they wish to ask in order to make the experiment legitimate. After a good amount of hard work, the participants will present their work to the judges on the first day of the event, using a poster–with no apparatus, or demonstration.  

 This year, Kent has seven students who are planning to enter the exhibition: Dianne Choo ’20, Lucas Pfeifer ’20, Meera Rao ’21, Dagny Peters ’21, Harry Song ’22, Shunyi Zheng ’22, and Claudia Shi ’22. Dr. Ben Nadire, the director of Kent’s Pre-Engineering Program, says that although students do not gain any school credit from doing a project, it is an excellent opportunity for a student to work and showcase what they have accomplished.

“They also increase a profile or have a story to tell during their work on their college application,” he adds. Even though the registration deadline for 2020 already ended, Kent students who are interested are encouraged to prepare a topic, find an advisor, work ahead, and be ready to register for next year.