The WEP 2016 Science Fair is a chance for our scientific community to come together and inspire each other through demonstrations and experiments. It’s also an opportunity for the KAUST community to learn from and interact with KAUST graduates, postdocs, research scientists and faculty. Prizes will be awarded based to the most innovative ideas. This year’s Science Fair takes place on Tuesday, January 19.
If you are interested in sharing your science outreach skills with the community, gather a team of one to three members and join us in this exciting event. You can participate either with a science or technology demonstration or by showing the results of novel research you are working on. Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners.
Please click here to register. Registration for the event closes on Tuesday, December 8. Please note registration is not limited solely to students, postdocs, research scientists and faculty are also welcome to participate.
Six WEP Credits will be obtained by new students who present during this event. If you have any questions please contact us at contactwep@kaust.edu.sa with SCIENCE FAIR as the subject.
We look forward to your enriching proposals!
The WEP 2016 team
I love the KAUST science fair. In the past it has been a venue for the KAUST K-12 students to learn and showcase some interesting science at the grade school level. In other words, it was a fair for amateurs.
I’m concerned about the change this year, inviting professional scientists (grad students, postdocs, and faculty) to participate. It drastically changes the flavor of the event, and may discourage the amateurs (K-12 students) from participating. On the other hand, as a professor I would feel uncomfortable participating since professional science is not normally part of a “science fair” (at least, in the culture I come from). Are we really going to have a competition in which the work of a research center director is pitted against that of a 4th-grade student?
There are plenty of venues for professional science to be showcased and honored. The KAUST science fair was previously a unique opportunity for young people at KAUST to develop their scientific interests. I urge the WEP committee to keep the science fair as it was, based on participation only of K-12 students. I hope that others who agree (or disagree, if that is the case) will chime in.
Dear David,
Thanks for your comments.
The invitation for submissions and participation from groups other than KAUST school students is not an innovation for this year. In the past, many grad students and postdocs have showcased their work at the science fair.
This has been done to inspire young students by making them aware of the great work being done here at KAUST.
When it comes to judging, students are judged separately, so there is no chance of a center directer being ‘pitted’ against a 4th grade student or taking possible recognition from a deserving young student.
However there is every chance a 4th grade student will be amazed by work kindly shared by a grad, postdoc or even a Center Director. We look forward to all submissions and a great science fair in 2016!
The Enrichment and Science Fair team