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Students to Attend Regional Science Fair at SUU
By Ashley Langston
Contributing Editor
Each year, students from southern and central Utah, and as far north as Vernal, come to SUU to display their science fair projects.
The regional science fair is affiliated with the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and offers opportunities for students to win scholarship money and advance to the international fair.
It will be March 28, and though the registration deadline is Feb. 14, they will be taking late registration until Feb. 28. Kris Bronsema, Southern Utah Science and Engineering Fair director, said they want everyone to get their registration in by the deadline, but they also want to have as many participants as they can.
She said the region is geographically about 77 percent of Utah, but it is only about 15 percent of the population. Students who come have usually been chosen to move on from a school science fair. Occasionally, they have students who don’t have the opportunity to participate in a school fair, but work under a parent or mentor to prepare for the regional fair, she said.
A lot of the students who come to the fair are from St. George, Delta or Price, but there are also students from Iron County and all the other areas in the region, Bronsema said.
She said the SUCCESS Academy, which has campuses in Cedar City and St. George, usually has a strong showing at the fair.
The Southern Utah Science and Engineering Fair’s mission statement reports that its goal is to advance science education in rural counties by promoting student participation in the scientific process.
“(The fair) supports the Utah Science Core Curriculum, which states in part, ‘It is not enough for students to read about science; they must do science.’ Our mission is to offer students a learning opportunity incorporating science and math, written and oral communication, organization, and critical analysis,” according to the mission statement.
Students in 9th through 12th grade participate in the senior fair. This year, the Symantec Software Scholarship program will choose one student for a $10,000 scholarship. The program will award these scholarships to one student at each of the four regional fairs in Utah.
According to a press release from Connect PR, Symantec is awarding this scholarship to help foster interest in science among young people.
“A scholarship award of $10,000 is not only a great way to earn money for college but it is certainly among the largest award of its kind and an opportunity that should not be missed,” the press release stated.
To qualify for the scholarship, students must develop a software program that solves a specific problem for their project. A substantial amount of the code should be the student’s own effort, the press release reported.
Judging will be based on the problem and the code’s complexity, as well as the handling of errors, design pattern, and proper legal use of code, according to the press release. Students must register for the scholarship program at the same time they register for the regional fair.
Last year, this award was received by Tyson Boardman of Delta. He also was chosen to progress to the international fair.
Bronsema said they choose up to eight students to move on to the international fair. Those selected go to the fair with all expenses paid. It is a week-long trip, and will be in Atlanta, Ga., this year, she said. Parents and teachers are also invited to go if they pay their own way.
According to a pamphlet about the Southern Utah fair, the Intel ISEF is the biggest pre-college science celebration in the world, “with up to 1,500 science fair projects from over 40 nations from around the world on display.”
Bronsema said she went to the fair for the first time last year and it was very impressive.
One other incentive to participate in the regional senior fair is a $500 scholarship from Intermountain Healthcare, which will be awarded for a project in a health-related field, Bronsema said.
There is also a junior fair for sixth through eighth-graders, and the top 10 percent will get nominated to go to the national fair. However, unlike the senior fair, they don’t automatically earn a spot. They receive an application packet, and then about 40 finalists get chosen nationally.
Bronsema said the national fair includes a lot of activities, not just a science fair. Even if the students don’t end up going to the national fair though, the regional fair is great practice for the senior fair.
Southern Utah University has played host to the regional fair since at least 1974, when it became affiliated with the ISEF, Bronsema said.
She said they are looking for any science professionals who are interested in volunteering to judge this year.
“We always need judges,” she said.
The fair will be in the Hunter Conference Center at SUU, and it will be open for public viewing from 10 a.m. to noon, March 28.
For more information on the fair or to contact Bronsema, visit www.suu.edu/sci/fair or call 865-8302.

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