Hundreds of children and family members attended the annual STEAM Expo on Saturday to enjoy hands-on science, technology, engineering, art, and math activities, and to view free shows at the TCOE Planetarium.
Prior to the opening of the Expo, the Tulare County Science & Engineering Fair began with several dozen student exhibits that addressed real-world issues. This year, students in elementary, middle, and high school worked alone or in teams to create 35 projects for the annual fair. Students applied the scientific method to explore issues in Earth and Space Sciences, Life Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics, and Chemistry.
While judges interviewed students about their Science Fair projects, visitors to the STEAM Expo built rockets and hot air balloons, programmed a variety of small robots, engaged in art projects, and learned about native plants and animals from representatives of Circle J-Norris Ranch, the Sequoia Riverlands Trust, and the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. In the planetarium, visitors enjoyed back-to-back showings of the popular program, CAPCOM GO! The Apollo Story.
At the end of the day, an awards ceremony was held to announce the winners of the Tulare County Science & Engineering Fair. A complete list of winners is available at tcoe.org/STEAMExpo/fair/results.
The Tulare County students advancing to the California State Science Fair, being held virtually April 12 are:
Micah Bailey, Miguel Pedraza, and Michael Miralez
Westfield Elementary School, Porterville
Water Has Bacteria
Ella Boiano
Three Rivers Elementary School, Three Rivers
How Low Can You Go?
Aaliyah Paggi
Three Rivers Elementary School, Three Rivers
Color of Egg Yolk
Grace Jenkins
Springville Elementary School, Springville
Blanket Battle
Chevy Biber, Samantha Freed, and Kamlynn Newlin
Westfield Elementary School, Porterville
Soil Erosion
Anthony Andrzejewski, Christopher Hernandez, and Esperanza Salazar
Mission Oak High School, Tulare
Finding the Best Truss Structure for the Lightest Yet Strongest Bridge