W. I. S. E.  2001

 

Wonders of the Imagination Science Exhibition

 

Science Fair Program

 

TIMETABLE

Saturday, March 17, 2001, St. Clement Hall, 2990 Tremainsville Road, Toledo, Ohio

8:00 a.m.          Students register and set up their science fair projects.

10:00 a.m.        Judging of the projects

1:00 p.m.          Public viewing (Students may, but are not required to, stay at their exhibits during all or part of this period to talk with visitors about their projects.)

5:00 p.m.          Awards ceremony, hosted by William L. Werner, W.I.S.E. Science Fair Director, with a short talk by Kim Small, Director of the Southeast Michigan Regional Fair - A listing of award winners will be available at the table near the hall entrance sometime before the awards ceremony.   Award winners will receive a ribbon, an award certificate, a prize certificate with which to purchase prizes of their choice, and an invitation to exhibit their project at COSI Toledo.  The winners may, if they wish, talk to the audience for about a minute about their science fair project.  They may then select and purchase an on-site prize.  W.I.S.E. will notify the media about award winners for students whose parents complete the authorization form provided.

5:30 p.m.          Refreshments

6:00 p.m.          Students remove their science fair projects.

 

LAYOUT

The science fair is laid out by grade level.  The label in the upper right corner of each project’s display board indicates the following information:  grade level - entry number in that grade - branch of science.  The branches of science are as follows:  Biology (B), Chemistry (C), Earth and environmental science (E), Physics (P), and Social science (S).  For example, project number 05-09-B would indicate a fifth grade project, the ninth project registered in that grade, and a biology project.

 

EXHIBITORS

This year’s science fair has sixty-four exhibitors (thirty-one boys and thirty-three girls) from thirty-nine families from eighteen communities in four Michigan counties (Lenawee, Monroe, Oakland, and Wayne) and four Ohio counties (Defiance, Fulton, Lucas, and Wood).  The home-schooling associations with the most students are H.E.M.S. (19), L.I.F.E. (16), and C.H.E.S.S. (8).  All exhibitors receive a ribbon, a personalized congratulatory certificate, and a written rating of their project.

 

COMMEMORATIVE T-SHIRTS

The small number of commemorative T-shirts ordered (39), coupled with the low price we charged for each T-shirt ($6.00 for an adult, $5.50 for a child), resulted in our being able to afford to have the T-shirt design silk screened in only one color.  However, we hope to offer a commemorative clothing item at next year’s science fair and anticipate that there will be sufficient volume to have a full-color design.  The T-shirts show the name and the slogan of the science fair on a field of question marks, along with W.I.S.E. 2001 and the logo.  The color logo, which was created by the science fair director since no-one entered the logo design contest, is an owl with red, blue, yellow, and green highlights spelling WISE.

 

NAME, THEME, AND SLOGAN

The name—"Wonders of the Imagination Science Exhibition"  The book of Genesis tells us that "God saw all things that he had made, and they were very good."  Science is the search for how God has manifested his goodness.  Science is discovering the physical laws that govern our world.  The scientist imagines what could be, and from his imagination can come wonders.

The theme—"promoting the wise use of science"  Wise science is responsible science.  The science fair promotes the responsible use of science, its use for the good of humankind.  Although science is neutral, its application is value-driven.  The choices are ours.

The slogan—"In science… the WISE ask the WHYs"  When attempting to discover its physical laws, the wise scientist asks not only why the world works in the way it does, but also why he is pursuing the knowledge he seeks.

THIS YEAR’S FAIR

Visitors may be interested in seeing the documents included in this year’s registration packet.  These documents are displayed on the wall, with the identifying sign “Sample Entry Form Packet,” and include the following:  eight-page, illustrated instruction booklet, two-page message to parents, entry form, mentorship record, and a science fair flyer.  Also displayed on the wall, with the identifying sign “Sample Certificates,” are sample copies of the award certificate and the prize certificate to be presented at the awards ceremony.

 

NEXT YEAR’S FAIR

To help us in preparing for next year’s science fair, we are asking each family with children in this year’s science fair to complete the evaluation and planning form enclosed in their registration envelope.   If your children did not enter the science fair this year but might want to enter next year, we are also asking you to complete this form, which is available at the table near the hall entrance.  Pens are also available there.  Please place your completed form in the designated box.  In addition, if you could help us get a financial head start for next year’s fair, we would welcome your contribution.  Make your check payable to W.I.S.E. and send it to the address indicated at the bottom of this page.  A W.I.S.E. checking account and financial management system have been in place since the beginning.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT by Bill Werner, Science Fair Director

I want to thank the following people and organizations for their generous support of the science fair:

• The students who showed interest and effort in entering the science fair, without whom there would be no W.I.S.E. 2001
• The parents of children who entered the science fair, for encouraging them and working with them
• The parents of students who made cash contributions
• The judges and alternate judges—Keith Birkhold, Scott Blackburn, Caroline Doran, Terry Doran, Pat Knoblauch, Marsha Krisher, Doug Pittman, Shelly Schaefer, William Schmertz,  Bryan Sherman, Jennifer Thomas, and Mary Zaums
• The companies and other organizations that contributed prizes—Scientific American magazine, Toledo Alexis Road Target Store, the Toledo Zoo, COSI Toledo, and Dana Corporation
• Terry Taylor of the Silk Screen Shop of Holland, Ohio, for providing the W.I.S.E. commemorative T-shirts at a reduced charge
• School-Tech of Ann Arbor, Michigan, which has offered to ship orders to science fair exhibitors with no shipping charge
• The  magazines that have offered reduced subscription prices to science fair exhibitors—Discover, Home Schooling Today, Scientific American, Scientific American Explorations, and The Teaching Home.
• The volunteer workers at the science fair
• The contributors of refreshments for the science fair
• COSI Toledo’s Learning Resource Coordinator, Betsy Hood, who arranged for winning students to showcase their exhibits at COSI from Saturday, April 21, through Friday, April 27, 2001.
• The science fair directors who provided guidance on planning and organizing this science fair—Dr. Mark Camp of the Northwest (Ohio) District Science Day, Carol Koesel of the Monroe County (Michigan)  Science Fair, and Kim Small of the Southeast (Michigan) Regional Fair
• Bedford Public School’s Director of Communications, Jeremy Snyder, who promoted the science fair on the school district’s web site
• The representatives of organizations that invited me to promote the science fair at gatherings of their members and/or students—Sherry Kertesz of H.E.M.S., Diann Warner of L.I.F.E.,  Tammy Rupple of C.H.E.S.S., and Jeff Savino of the Lake Erie Center
• St. Clement Parish, for providing the hall for the science fair at a greatly reduced charge
• My daughter, Cheryl, for creating the name of the science fair, “Wonders of the Imagination Science Exhibition”
• My four adult children, Gregory, Kristin, Cheryl, and Julianne, who allowed me to showcase their projects from their elementary and high school years
• My wife, Bette Charlene, who supported me in my dream of planning and organizing the science fair
• All my family, remembering the good family times we spent doing science fair projects together