Northern Minnesota Regional Science Fair encourages youth participation in science
Mar. 4—BEMIDJI — A mainstay of the Northern Minnesota Regional Science Fair, Grand Rapids High School junior Adam Jacobson went meta for this year's science project.
Held at
Bemidji State University
on Friday, the fair provided the perfect venue for Jacobson to share insights on his project, "Lift Kids' Interest in Science," where he explored a decline in students participating in science fairs and possible solutions to garner greater interest.
"I've been participating in the science fair since sixth grade and one thing I've noticed throughout the years is that less and less students are doing science fair, especially the regional fair," Jacobson said. "I reached out to my local science fair coordinator and asked how many students had been participating throughout the years. From 2016 to 2024, there's been a 75% decrease in science fair participation."
Out of the 1,200 students in ninth through 12th grade in his high school, Jacobson noted that he is the sole participant in science fairs.
He previously competed alongside his sister, Paige,
who graduated last year.
Additionally, Jacobson's project was one of two at the high school level at Friday's fair, compared to 60 middle school projects.
In his research, Jacobson identified over 500 students at Grand Rapids to take a survey regarding their interest in science as well as what they didn't like about science or science fairs. He also created a live science experiment to present to each grade level, after which a similar survey was given out.
Before the experiment, Jacobson's survey results showed that about 90% of first-grade students thought science was "a lot of fun." Post-experiment, this number increased to 100%.
Interest levels took a significant dip at the high school level. Prior to the experiment, about 10% of freshmen thought science was "a lot of fun" though 80% thought it was "a little fun." About 35% of freshmen noted that science was "a lot of fun" after the experiment and roughly 60% considered science "a little fun."
In compiling his results, Jacobson identified three main barriers preventing students from participating in science fairs.
"They either weren't motivated to do science fair, they didn't have time or they couldn't come up with an idea to do science fair," he added. "To help them get more motivated, we have to extrinsically motivate the students before they're intrinsically motivated to do science fair."
Jacobson noted different means of motivating students at various grade levels.
"The main thing that motivates students at higher grade levels to do science is working with their peers. At the lower grade levels, they're more interested in learning because they love to learn," he said. "We should be encouraging high school students to work together as a team and do group projects because then they'd be more willing to participate in the science fair."
In addition to Grand Rapids High, student exhibitors hailed from Grand Rapids' Robert J. Elkington Middle School, Franklin Middle School in Thief River Falls, Marshall County Central in Newfolden and Wadena-Deer Creek High School.
Students from 18 northern Minnesota counties — Aitkin, Beltrami, Benton, Cass, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pennington, Red Lake, Roseau and Wadena — are eligible to participate even if their school doesn't host a local science fair or employs its own science fair coordinator.
"Everyone could benefit from learning science and the scientific process," BSU professor and science fair director Kjerstin Owens said. "Starting students young with that excitement in science is really key to their future. Even if they're not going into a STEM field, it's so important to understand the world that they live in.
"This brings a lot of excitement. They get to be creative and innovative and really dig deep into something that they're passionate about."
Though BSU's science fair participation took a dip following COVID, it has certainly rebounded. Around 40 students participated in 2023, while last year's fair saw 80 exhibitors, which is on par with this year's.
"We hope to do a little more outreach, spark some interest and continually work to recruit more students, and think about opening this to younger students," Owens added. "We hope to continue to grow."
Alongside building participation, Jacobson hopes to build a good culture behind science and the science fairs, a culture that exists in several other activities.
"Some people in my school are big into sports and they've told me personally that they've been on skates the second they could walk. I believe we have to do that for the science fair, as well," he left off. "We have to show students that this is something they can do if they work hard and have a lot of passion about doing science."
In the end, the senior high science fair winners were named:
* Gold medal: Adam Jacobson from Grand Rapids High School
* Silver medal: Cadie Leeseberg, Chloe Leeseberg and Kaylee Lehmann from Wadena-Deer Creek High School
And the middle school winners included:
* Gold medal: Henrik Carlson from Robert J. Elkington Middle School
* Silver medal: Katie Mousel from Robert J. Elkington Middle School
* Bronze medal: Nora Fay from Franklin Middle School
* Honorable mention: Braxton Drevlow from Franklin Middle School
These students will now advance to the Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair on Friday, March 28, at the RiverCentre in St. Paul. From there, students can earn a spot at the Regeneron International State and Engineering Fair on May 10-16 in Columbus, Ohio.
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