Eighty of King and Snohomish counties’ smartest and most inventive high school students will compete March 20 in Bellevue College’s Central Sound Regional Science and Engineering Fair.
The 9th to 12th grade students from public, home and private schools will work individually or in teams to conduct independent research in one of 18 science, math and engineering categories.
Information for students who wish to take part is available online at http://scidiv.bellevuecollege.edu/sami/scifair/ . Registrations are being accepted through March 10.
The public is invited to view the projects from 10 a.m. to noon on March 20, free of charge, in Bellevue College’s C Building (next to the fountain on the college’s main campus).
Winners will be announced at 2 p.m., with first, second and third-place ribbons awarded in separate science, math and engineering categories. An overall winner will also be announced.
Projects will be judged on their creativity, depth of content, thoroughness and clarity, among other criteria.
The science fair is sponsored by the Bellevue College’s Science and Math Institute (SAMI) and Science Division.
For further information about the fair, contact Kathryn Souza at kathryn.souza@bellevuecollege.edu or (425)564-3055.
Bellevue College’s main campus is located at 3000 Landerholm Circle S.E., Bellevue, at the intersection of S.E. 28th St. and 148th Ave. S.E..
ABOUT SAMI
The Bellevue College Science and Math Institute, or SAMI, was launched in 2008 to interest more students of all ages in science and mathematics, on campus and in the surrounding community. Its activities range from “Science to Go” programs that bring hands-on science to middle- and elementary-school classrooms, to internship opportunities for science students and an annual, one-week Summer Science Camp for 5th and 6th-graders.
For further information about SAMI, email kathryn.souza@bellevuecollege.edu or phone (425) 564-3055.
ABOUT BELLEVUE COLLEGE’S SCIENCE DIVISION
Serving more than 20,000 students each year, Bellevue College’s Science Division offers a comprehensive curriculum of more than 100 courses within four general program areas: Engineering, Life Sciences, Mathematics and Physical Sciences.
Highly unusual for a two-year college, the Division engages students in ongoing, original genomic research. Students in the project, known as ComGen, are analyzing the genetic makeup of a bacterium not yet studied anywhere else in the world, which holds the potential to protect wheat and barley from root disease.
The college’s science facilities include its new, three-story, 64,000 square-foot S Building, which houses five high-tech classrooms, 16 advanced laboratories and a Science Study Center. Another key asset is the Willard Geer Planetarium, the only planetarium in the region to use the advanced, computer-based Digistar 3 system to project and move images. The 60-seat planetarium is almost constantly in use as a college classroom or a field-trip destination for 1,600 K-12 students each year.