Enthusiasm for science fairs has dimmed in Wisconsin

Joe Carey:

Gary Stresman stands on a chair in the cafeteria in Nicolet High School addressing a bustling crowd of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. Though it's rather early on a Saturday morning and they are in a school, the students are excited.

 They are at a science fair.

It's going to be a great day, Stresman tells them. They should be proud of the work they put into their projects and be ready to have some fun, he says.

 "Because science is cool, right?" he asks.

 "Right!" they answer him.

That enthusiasm for science fairs - once a staple of school life - doesn't burn as brightly throughout Wisconsin.

In recent years, Wisconsin's statewide science fair, which takes the winners from the eight regional fairs around the state, has drawn about 75 high school students. Milwaukee is down to one districtwide science fair for MPS, after the Milwaukee Regional Science and Engineering Fair folded in 2009.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 13, 2011 2:48 AM
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