USM to Host State Level Science and Engineering Fair for K-12 Students

Thu, 03/24/2022 - 01:42pm | By: Van Arnold

Some of the brightest young minds in grades 7-12 will be on full display when the Mississippi Science and Engineering State Level Fair gets underway April 1 at the Payne Center on The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Hattiesburg campus.

Projects that were awarded 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in each of 13 research categories in three competition categories from Mississippi’s seven science fair regions will be presented for judging.

Each year one of the seven regions serves as the host site for the state fair. COVID-19 restrictions forced cancellation of an in-person state fair for the previous two years. This year Region I (Hattiesburg) teamed up with Region VI (Gulf Coast) to host the event at USM.

“We wanted to do this so that northern Mississippi students would not have to travel all the way to the Gulf Coast, and we can show off the beautiful campus in Hattiesburg,” said David Sliman, Chief Information Officer at USM and Region VI director.

Sliman notes that the host for each regional fair is a community college or university in Mississippi. USM serves as the host institution for 28 counties in south Mississippi.

“It is a great recruiting opportunity for Southern Miss,” he said. “The State Science Fair may be the first time many of these students have been on a university campus, and that might be all it takes for them to become Golden Eagles.”

Included among the many projects displayed in previous competitions were:

Do Subliminal Messages Work?

Micro-Plastics in Water

The Effects of Ocean Acidification on Phragmites

Which Brand Disinfectant Works Best to Kill Bacteria?

The Effects of Mississippi River Pollutants on the Growth of Microsystic Aerugin

After the two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, Sliman says that excitement continues to build as the state fair approaches.

“It has been two years since we have had an in-person State Science fair, so this one will be doubly exciting,” said Sliman. “During our regional science fair, we are usually too busy entering scores and compiling results to get out and see the projects. The State Science Fair has time built in for viewing of the projects. Still, there is never enough time to see each project in depth.”

Each regional science fair chooses one project that will be entered into the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held each May. The selected students will receive an all-expense paid trip for an entire week in Atlanta, Ga. One project from this year’s state fair will also be selected for the ISEF.