Yuma County science expo moving into the digital age

Volunteer judges sought for event

Budding scientists all over Yuma County are gearing up for the annual Science and Engineering Expo.

This year’s contest will be Feb. 2 at the Yuma campus of Arizona Western College and feature up to 21 winners from each participating school’s campus. The expo allows for three entries per category for each grade.

“We’re expanding,” said Yuma County schools Superintendent Tom Tyree. Elementary and middle school entries will be set up in the Schoening Conference Center, while high school entries will be in the Engineering Building.

As of Thursday, more than 300 entries had been registered, said Nicole Rangel, coordinator for the expo.

Tyree said the county is trying something new this year — digital presentations. High school competitors will be using Google Slides for their presentations, and judging will be more interactive, as judges will be able to preview the student’s projects online.

After last year’s expo debrief, the impetus began to move the expo into using more technology, Tyree said.

“Nearly every student in Yuma County already has some kind of device, so the idea was, why aren’t we trying to incorporate that technology a little bit more into what we are doing,” he said.

Yuma Union High School District uses Google Classroom, said science teacher Kimberly Adkins, so students were already using Google Slides to create presentations.

Cibola students did a presentation to the science expo committee to demonstrate various platforms to consider using, and because Google is cross-platform, that is what the committee decided to use.

So far, the experiment is progressing as planned.

“This has much less headache,” Adkins said. “Before, there was a scramble for the printer, and if the ink had dried up, then you had to go find a printer.”

“This way is much easier to put together,” said Cibola Principal Tim Brienza, who is helping his two kids with their projects. “There’s no messing up peeling this piece of paper off.”

For his high school science students, Brienza said they found working with the technology much easier than the old “cut and paste” method.

“They really enjoy the fact that you could manipulate things more easily,” he said.

High school winners who move on to the Southern Arizona Regional Science & Engineering Fair will have to “back out” their presentations to poster board, as that contest is not yet set up for digital presentations, Tyree said.

At AWC, high schoolers will be able to use 27-inch iMacs for their presentations, said Brenda Warnock, AWC’s technology director, much like they would in the professional world.

The expo has seven division categories, and in years past, winners have gone on to compete regionally, statewide and on a national basis. The divisions are: chemistry, biochemistry; earth and environmental science; zoology; botany; engineering and technology; health, medicine, microbiology; and physics.

Community members who want some food for their thoughts can sign up to be judges for the expo, as the county is still seeking volunteers.

“You don’t have to be a science expert to be a judge,” Warnock said.

Judges attend an orientation before the event, Tyree explained, and are given instructions on how to carry out their tasks, including a refresher on the scientific method.

“This is a very fun and rewarding way to interact with students,” Tyree said, many of whom are already on their way to careers in science.

The expo culminates with an Awards Night, which will be Feb. 13 at Cibola.

For more information, check out www.yumasupt.org/science-expo.html online or direct questions to expo coordinator Nicole Rangel at NRangel@craneschools.org.

“I think it’s a real important step forward,” Tyree said of moving to digital presentations. “I think, eventually, what you’ll see is all our kids doing it this way.”