Get involved: Science fair judges needed
 By John Waits ’71, ‘72
When I was first asked about being a judge for the 47th Science and Engineering Fair of Houston over a year ago, my reaction was “what are they thinking?” I thought about it for awhile and decided to give it a try, despite never having participated in or attended a science fair in my life. I realized that there would be other experienced judges to lean on, and I thought it might be interesting.
I was completely unprepared for what I saw. First of all, the participants ranged in age from junior high school to seniors, and their projects ranged from the obvious to some that achieved a level of sophistication I would never have imagined. The standard drill for a judge is to walk up to a kid and ask them to tell you about their project. The students have spent a lot of time on these projects, and they are justly proud of them; they are also terrified to speak to a strange, white-haired adult. Mostly, you listen to see how much they really understand about their project, trying to gauge how much of the work is theirs and how much is a parent’s or teachers or professional researcher. That last one might seem strange, but some of the senior projects are carried out in university facilities under the tutelage of research scientists during summer programs.
What I generally found was bright, motivated students who wanted to talk about their work. They were polite, willing to explain details to a doddering old fool, and a delight to be around. So, on balance, it was fun for me and I served as a judge again in March this year.
But fun for me isn’t why this needs to be done. Students like these need to be encouraged to continue with their scientific education. How motivating is it to work all year on a project and only get a cursory review at the fair? The Science Fair is chronically short of judges, and there is no excuse for that in a city as technologically oriented as Houston. Some companies showed up with teams of employees wearing company T-shirts, but there weren’t enough of them. Others, who showed up, either as individuals or as representatives of various awards groups, were too few for the task at hand.
The judges that are there cope with the situation, but it is still a gross injustice to the students. Next year, give it a try. I promise you will be glad you did.
The fair is held in March each year.
You can find more information online here.
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