The 35th annual Missouri Southern Regional Science Fair will be held Tuesday, March 26, in Billingsly Student Center’s Connor Ballroom.
The competition for high-school and middle-school students is affiliated with the Society for Science and the Public. Individual or team projects are accepted from students in the following counties: Vernon, Barton, Jasper, Newton, McDonald, Barry, Lawrence, Cedar, Dade, and St. Clair in Missouri; Neosho, Crawford, Montgomery, Labette, Bourbon, and Cherokee in Kansas.
This year’s fair will include entries from area schools in the junior category (grades 5-8) and the senior category (grades 9-12). Categories include:
- Behavioral and social sciences.
- Cell, molecular, and microbiology.
- Chemistry and biochemistry.
- Computer science, engineering, and mathematics.
- Earth and environmental sciences.
- Human and animal sciences.
- Physics and astronomy.
- Plant sciences.
Closed judging will occur from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with public viewing from 1-5 p.m.
Missouri Junior Academy of Science presentations will be from 1-2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, in Reynolds Hall. High-school and middle-school students write a formal research paper and present their project during a 12-minute talk. Students may enter the science fair and junior academy of science with the same project. The presentations and papers are judged and rated as I, II, or III. Senior and junior participants are eligible for the state competition on April 12-13 at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, MO.
An awards ceremony for both MSRSF and MJAS will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. in Cornell Auditorium.
First-place winners in all the categories at the science fair will receive medals and cash prizes. Grand prize winners (two senior division and two junior) will receive certificates and cash prizes. Two senior finalists will be able to participate at the International Science and Engineering Fair, held May 11-17 in Los Angeles, CA.
Various sponsors will offer special awards, including cash prizes, medals, and certificates.
They include American Meteorological Society, American Psychological Association, ASM Materials Education Foundation, Association for Women Geoscientists, Home Depot, MSSU Caduceus Club, MSSU Chemistry Club, MSSU Environmental Health Club, MSSU Society of Physics Students, MSSU Wildlife Society, MSSU Women in Science, MSSU Pollinators Club, MU Alpha Theta, NASA, National Geographic Society, NOAA, Ozark Gateway Audubon Society, Regeneron and the Society for Science, Ricoh Americas Corporation, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology, Society for In Vitro Biology, Society for Science, Stockholm Junior Water, US Metric Association, US Navy/US Marine Corps, US Navy/US Marine Corps, USAF Research Laboratory, USAID.
“We hope to see a lot of exciting and innovative student projects this year,” said Dr. Rabindra Bajracharya. “Students have ample opportunities to interact with their peers from other schools as well as professors and students from MSSU.”
For more information regarding the Missouri Regional Science Fair, contact Dr. Rabindra Bajracharya at Bajracharya-r@mssu.edu, Dr. Teresa Boman at Boman-T@mssu.edu, for the Missouri Junior Academy of Science, or visit the webpage at https://www.mssu.edu/regional-science-fair/index.php.
