TRIADELPHIA -- The West Liberty University Regional Science And Engineering Fair is back, and will take place this week at The WLU Highlands Center.
The event was canceled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic, but young scientists from the area are set to return for the competition Saturday.
While the science fair has happened annually for most of 63 years, the competitions have always taken place on the main campus at West Liberty. Next week's contests will be the first at the WLU Highlands Center, according to Holly Racine, assistant professor of biology at WLU and co-director of the science fair.
Another difference this year is that for the first time, some elementary school students will be welcome to participate.
The science fair is open to students in grades 3-12 in Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, and Wetzel counties. The elementary division will consist of students in grades 3-5; the junior division, grades 6-8; and the senior division, grades 9-12.
Winners in 21 different categories at each of the three grade levels will be selected by judges. Students compete for category awards, special awards, and an opportunity to go to the West Virginia Science and Engineering Fair on March 7.
Racine expects about 100 students to apply to compete in the regional science fair. Exhibits so far will examine such questions as "Which soft drink is worse for your teeth?" "Does COVID-19 affect children's mental health?" And "The battle of the bottles? Which plastic is best?"
The fair gets started at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, with the check-in for the elementary division. This will be followed by exhibit set-up and judging, and the tear-down and removal of projects takes place from 11:30 a.m. until noon.
The junior and senior division then checks in between noon and 12:30 p.m., followed by the exhibit set-up and judging. The awards ceremony concludes the day of science activity and is planned for 5 p.m., and it will be both an in-person and virtual ceremony shared on Topper Station.
WLU's biology, chemistry and science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) clubs have special activities for the students taking part in the fair. This includes animals from the zoo science program.
"We have fun stuff planned for the students, too," Racine said. "It's not all just about science fair projects."