Palm Beach County students radiate worms, look for oncogenes, even sell surfboards in pursuit of science.
Though the county has a long tradition of its top students earning honors at state and international science fairs, projects on the whole are growing in scope and complexity. More students are spending their summers working in university labs, pairing with mentor scientists who can guide their work, as Ayyagari did, and taking on multi-year studies.
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Since 2004, the number of entries in the middle and high school fair have increased from 600 to more than 1,000.
One reason is that more schools are offering higher-level science courses such as a research class, which allows students to hone their ideas and work on experiments at school. Other schools have dedicated science magnets, such as Suncoast’s math, science and engineering program or the biotech academies at Seminole Ridge and Spanish River high schools.
Two years ago, the district began paying a stipend to science fair coordinators, much like a football coach is paid.
