The 2008 Science Fair of Seville

Por Ellie Okley  de 4º de ESO D

The Science Fair of Seville was a great experience. Schools from all over Seville participated, everyone ready to learn about and to teach others about various science projects. It was obvious that each school and its students had spent a lot of time in preparation for this event; the stands were decorated with posters and pictures, the projects completed, the students knowledgeable and ready to explain the functioning and purpose of their projects. For the Fair, my group prepared two steam engines which powered a light bulb and a water wheel.

There were many different stands in the Fair, ranging from experiments conducted by 6-year olds to university students, allowing for a great variety of projects. I enjoyed walking around and exploring the fair, learning about what other schools had made. Highlights included a project that showed various, easy ways to recycle, a bulletin board where you had to match inventors with their inventions, a human board game concerning the water cycle, and a stand where children explained why a towel scrunched in the bottom of a glass will not get wet when the glass is placed upside-down in water. There were also fun, interactive activities available, such as taking a newscaster picture, painting your arms to look like a serious burn and for the younger children, a carousel ride on tire horses.

People of all ages came to the Fair, and we as students, had to know how to explain our projects to the old and young. Some of the older people could explain our steam engine themselves, while the young kids stared wide-eyed at the engine puffing away and we never could tell if they understood a word we were saying to them.

All in all I think the Science Fair was a huge success. If I could, I would return next year, with new students and their science experiments to learn about.  Our hard work was rewarded by the visitors who attended and showed interest in our projects. The students enjoyed the experience too; although by days end we were all exhausted from explaining our experiments to hundreds of people.  These people took advantage of the opportunity the Science Fair presented: to learn about science while at the same time having fun and enjoying themselves. 

Tomares, 12/06/08