The 2015 West Central Regional Science Fair and Senior Research Symposium will be held at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts will be held Wednesday, Feb. 25 through Friday, Feb. 27.
The science fair focuses on STEM-related subjects while the Senior Research Symposium includes humanities subjects. Each ASMSA student is required to complete a Fundamentals in Research Methods (FIRM) project during their senior year. Students begin working on their projects during their junior year, selecting whether to focus on a STEM or humanities subject.
First- through third-place winners in each category in the science fair are eligible to compete in the Arkansas Science and Engineering Fair. This year’s state science fair will be held April 3-4 in the Farris Center on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. ASMSA won the overall title at the state competition in 2013 and 2014, and several students have placed in the top five overall as well as being recognized in their specific categories.
The regional science fair is affiliated with the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. First- and second-place overall winners in this year’s regional science fair will earn a trip to the Intel ISEF, which will be held May 10-15 in Pittsburgh. In 2014, three ASMSA students competed at the Intel ISEF in Los Angeles, with a third student earning a trip at the Arkansas Science and Engineering Fair.
The regional science fair and research symposium will be open for viewing by the public on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students will be with their exhibits from 1 to 3 p.m. to answer questions. A viewing time for families will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. on Friday.
A college fair will also be held during the public viewing session. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Lyon College and Southern Arkansas University will be represented.
An awards ceremony for the science fair and research symposium will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church, located on Whittington Avenue across from ASMSA.
For more information about the science fair, visit https://sites.google.com/a/asmsa.org/wcrsf/.