Hello neighbors,
This past February I had the opportunity to volunteer for the first
time at the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival. I worked the
floor and in the process met a number  of students and was able to check out the displays. From the simple to the complex, a cool display of creativity, hard work and intelligence!
I remember two young ladies in particular, both Junior Level/middle school.
One had her project board of documentation of objectives, and results a nd a display of plants. Her project was to grow plants upside down withvarious nutrients and water. Fairly simple project but her goal was to use this as her first step to testing in zero gravity……desiring to become an astronaut!

The second was just a project board of documentation of objectives and results. Objective was to develop better algorithms for checksums.
Hmmmm, I understand the basics but definitely above my pay grade!

What a great bunch of kids and I definitely got out of the Festival as
much as they did.

You can view the 2018 video at http://www.sciencefest.org (click through the banners on the home page) and this fall, if interested, you can get information on general volunteering and judging by contacting Ingrid Weigand at ingrid.weigand@austinscience.org.
Stay posted for future information for the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival  February 20-23, 2019.

Cheers, Gary Hyatt

P.S. more information below
News coverage

Girls rule at Austin Energy science fair

Austin Energy Regional Science Festival
The Austin Energy Regional Science Festival is one of Texas’ largest
regional science fairs with almost 3,000 students from 3rd through 12th grade. It encourages and rewards innovative student research and provides scientists, engineers and other professionals a chance to volunteer in the community.
The 2018 video has been posted. You can view it at www.sciencefest.org
(click through the banners on the home page)

Austin Science Education Foundation
https://austinscience.org/
Purpose
The Austin Science Education Foundation (ASEF) was established in 2013 to support the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival (AERSF).
AERSF serves 3rd – 12th grade students from 11 Central Texas counties and 23 school districts, as well as private, home and charter schools.
Mission
ASEF will promote student’s knowledge of and involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math by enabling participation in the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival and supporting students selected to advance to the Texas Science and Engineering Fair and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.