This year, the Lake Central Science Fair is becoming more technologically driven as students are encouraged to utilize multimedia presentations rather than traditional poster boards.

“When Mrs. [Brynn] Denton and I went to Purdue, they were saying that there was such a rise in people that are going into medical and scientific fields. Since these fields are so competitive, if [students] have something that they’ve done that’s going to make them stand out amongst other applicants, then they should submit that as a supplemental material. Say you did a lab in AP Chemistry; if you can take it a step further, it would be wise for [students] to possibly enter [the fair]. They can present a multimedia presentation instead of doing a typical board. You can put this on your resume through Naviance, you could send that multimedia presentation to an admissions counselor or dean to make yourself stand out to try and get you to into whatever school you’re applying for,” Ms. Melissa St. Clair, Guidance, said.

It is not mandatory for students to use multimedia presentations, poster boards are still allowed.

“Some of the [younger] kids will do the boards. Some kids like to have boards in front of them with a multimedia presentation, so we are allowing students to do it both ways,” Ms. St. Clair said.

Though the Science Fair has not yet taken place, next year’s fair is already in the works. Administrators and faculty are looking to make the Science Fair more interactive for students.

“There was talk among the AP [science] teachers [for next year]. When I was in school for Marine Biology, we had to do a symposium where you had to go out and do a project with research. You had to come up with a thesis of sorts and present it in front of your peers. We were looking to maybe next year having symposiums, similar to a TED Talk,” Ms. St. Clair said.

For those who are interested in staying home for college and majoring in the science, the Science Fair provides an opportunity for students interested to share their work with professors from local universities.  

“The Science Fair is [for] elementary, middle and high school students. There is going to be different types of judging based on what grade level [students are in]. College professors come from [Purdue University Calumet] and [Indiana University Northwest], so [for] students who want to stay locally, it wouldn’t be a bad way to build a report or showcase work already to these professors,” Ms. St. Clair said.

The Science Fair will take place Saturday, April 2 in the Lake Central cafeteria.