The ASMSA Science Fair will be held March 2-4.

We are currently looking for people to judge the entries. ASMSA alumni who are grad students or who have graduated from grad school are welcome to help with the judging.

Science Fair judging will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2. A separate team of experienced judges is needed for the overall round which starts at 4 p.m. on Feb. 24. Junior Academy judging will be held on Thursday, March 3 from 9 a.m. to noon.

If you are interested in judging, contact Science Fair Director Dr. Brian Monson at (501) 622-5242 or at monsonb@asmsa.org

Public viewing of the exhibits will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 3. The competitors will be at their exhibits from 1 to 3 p.m. to answer questions. Competitors’ families may visit the exhibits on public day or at the special family-only session on Friday, March 4 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The awards ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, March 4 at the First Presbyterian Church, which is located across the street from the school on Whittington Avenue in Hot Springs.

For more information about the Science Fair, visit https://sites.google.com/a/asmsa.org/wcrsf/public

The ASMSA Robotics Team earned two first-place awards at the Frontier Trails BEST Regional Robotics Competition, held Dec. 10-11 at the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith.

The team placed first in the Founders Award and the Most Elegant categories.

The Founder’s Award is given to the team that makes best use of the engineering process in consideration of offensive and defensive capabilities in machine design and is awarded in recognition of BEST founders Steve Marum and Ted Mahler.

The Most Elegant Award is given to the team whose machine demonstrates the best design and execution of the game – the machine that makes you say “Wow!”

The team also placed third in the Most Robust category. That award is given to the team whose machine requires the least maintenance during and between matches and is generally the sturdiest machine in the competition.

The Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) Robotics Competition is for middle and high school teams who are given six weeks to design, build and drive a robot to perform an assigned task. At the initial competition held in Little Rock in November, the ASMSA won four first-place awards including the BEST award, which is awarded to the team that best embodies the concept of Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology.

“BEST Robotics embodies what every club should strive for,” said Nick Seward, the team’s advisor. “ BEST is fun, engaging, and challenging. This helps students acquire many real world marketable skills that go much beyond building a robot: web design, graphic design, marketing, drafting, video editing, sound editing, teamwork, mechanism design and the engineering process. I have seen many students make positive changes after participating. Some start trying harder in school. Some pick a more technical degree. I am very pleased to be a part of this.”

ASMSA Robotics Team members are: April Abiera, Anali Benavides Luke Clement, Tait Clements, Alec Crow, Arnab Dey, Kori Gills, Scott Glover, Stephen Hu, Hodge Hunter, Christi Kim, Jessica Laws, Zach Lovin, Calvin MacKenzie, Ryan Medlock, Becky Rainwater, Jamie Smith, and Connor Young.

The ASMSA Foundation has established a scholarship fund in memory of school librarian Dan Benton, who died Oct. 28 from injuries received in a car accident.

Benton, who was 27, began working at ASMSA in 2006, first as a residential mentor then as a librarian. He was a graduate of the University of the Ozarks and earned a master’s degree in public history from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Hot Springs where was involved with the youth group. He also spent much of his free time volunteering for several nonprofit organizations.

ASMSA Community Coordinator Michelle Barnes came up with the idea of the scholarship. “People wanted to give something in memory of Dan,” she said. “And he was big on giving, not receiving. The scholarship combines two of his passions – giving and history.”

Fellow librarian Regina Beard agrees. “He was always thinking about others,” she said. “I think he would would really love that (the scholarship). Many of our conversations were about history.”

A $500 award will be presented to an ASMSA senior who exemplifies passion for history in the classroom.

To contribute to the Daniel A. Benton scholarship fund, send a check made payable to the the ASMSA Foundation Fund, 200 Whittington Avenue, Hot Springs AR 71901. Please note on the check the donation is for the Daniel A. Benton Scholarship.