Let us go to the fair
An estimated 10 million students in the United States participate in science fairs every year, according to Kenneth Hess, CEO of Science Buddies, a nonprofit that provides online science learning tools, including science fair project ideas. Unfortunately, 10 million is a mere 5.5 percent of our nations 54.8 million K–12 students, which might explain why science fairs are “lagging,” as The New York Times described it in a 2011 article.
Of course, not everyone thinks science fairs are on the way out. Gayle Kansagor, chief communications officer at the Society for Science and the Public, says in her experience, national science fairs are on the upswing.
