Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Fair

On Saturday, Historic City News accompanied third, fourth and fifth-grade students from St Johns County elementary schools who attended the inaugural St Johns County School District Elementary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Fair; held at Palencia Elementary School.

The local students displayed projects demonstrating the practices of science on Saturday, May 18th from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. during the event presented and sponsored by National Geographic, Northrop Grumman and the St Johns County Environmental Division.

“At The theme for third-grade projects was Observation Odyssey — while fourth-grade students worked on projects themed, Invention of the Imagination,” Elementary Science specialist Mark Lewis told reporters. “The theme for fifth-grade projects was Let’s Experiment.”

Students worked in teams and were tasked with making observations in nature, keeping a journal, and building a model that represented their findings. Some students worked in teams to design and build an invention, and then wrote a set of instructions that someone else could follow to replicate their experiment. Fifth graders presenting at the fair worked in teams or as individuals to design and perform experiments following the scientific method for experimentation.

Northrop Grumman hosted interactive displays for students focusing on robotics and lasers. Interactive science displays from the St Johns County Environmental Division featured watershed projects and addressed environmental concerns.