NTCC students judge Region 8 Virtual Science Fair

Dr. Drew Murphy assists students with judging.

The Region 8 Virtual Science Fair was held on Monday, February 20th, at Northeast Texas Community College.  A total of 216 student projects were submitted to compete including submissions from twenty-five Region 8 school districts.  Each school district is allowed to enter four students per grade level.  Students have the choice of entering one of three categories. The following projects were entered in each category this year: Behavioral/Biological- 72 projects, Chemical/Physical-118, and 18 Inventions.  Participating districts submitted a video of each student presenting their project orally while explaining how they used the steps of the scientific method using a prepared science board.    

students judging with papers
Alyssa Ochoa & George Burrows

Judges for the Science Fair were members of the NTCC BioChem Club, sponsored by Dr. Drew Murphy, members of the NTCC Chapter of Psi Beta, sponsored by Dr. Karyn Skaar, and members of Ms. Stacie Yarbrough’s and Mr. Jim Ward's biology classes.  Over 40 college students were split into groups to judge the various grade levels and categories electronically. Each project was judged and awarded points in the following categories: Creativity/Originality, Scientific Method, Data, Oral Presentation, and Science Board Organization & Neatness.

The Region 8 Virtual Science Fair Awards was streamed live on February 21st at 10:00 AM to all participating schools and is available on the Region 8 Science Fair Hub for viewing. The top six students in each grade level category were announced and will receive a ribbon, medal, or certificate.  All participating students will receive a ribbon for their hard work. 

three students judging science fair
Lauren Burton, Colin Kincaid and Bryan Torres

Although this year's science fair had to be changed from in-person to virtual due to the February weather conditions, the Region 8 ESC Science Fair Team feels that it was a huge success! This year's projects were some of the best that have ever been submitted and all districts are encouraged to participate in the future. More information about the Region 8 Science Fair can be found using the following link: Region 8 Science Fair Hub 

NTCC students have been judging the Region 8 Science Fair for over 20 years.  It was a pleasure to work with this year’s Region 8 Science Fair Team who brought the virtual fair to NTCC- Susan Huizinga, Rebecca Baker, Chelsey Jester and Callie Burris.