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Air Commandos help judge local science fair

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alexx Pons
  • 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Twelve members of Team Cannon ventured out to a local Clovis school to help judge the 2015 International Science and Engineering Fair, Oct. 23.

The men and women of the 27th Special Operations Wing had an opportunity to critique projects in a variety of categories, including microbiology, biomedical and health sciences, animal sciences, and cellular and molecular biology; all while meeting with students who presented their thorough research.

“A science fair is more than just learning about scientific facts, it is about understanding and applying the scientific process,” said Dr. Linda D’Amour, school principal. “We teach students to ask a question, conduct research, form a hypothesis, conduct test based on their hypothesis, and determine confirmation or error in beliefs after concluding results.”

According to educators, students have spent the past nine weeks on these projects, following a specific timeline, all based off an idea they could research. The projects were required for those students in the 5th grade; however, students 6th through 12th had the option to enter the fair.

“We did not present them with any specific theme or separate students by grade,” D’Amour stated. “We wanted to judge students based on whether or not they followed appropriate procedures. We really want students to take away a solid understanding about what researches do daily in specific career fields.”

“Taking part in a science fair is not just about completing an assignment, it is about investigation of your hypothesis,” she continued. “This is my 27th year overseeing a science fair like this – it is wonderful to have so many judges come out from Cannon [Air Force Base] to help us out.”

Students went through two rounds of overall critique; those who stood out during the initial round with three judges were afforded another opportunity to present their projects to the entire panel.

“This was not my first time judging this fair; I find this all very interesting, and it is a great feeling getting to help out and interact with these amazing kids,” said Kendra Williams, 16th Special Operations Squadron. “All of the projects we saw today reminded me of being in school – although I doubt we were coming up with things like this when I was younger.”

“Aside from that, the school staff here is great to us and very welcoming to our military community,” she added. “It is awesome to have opportunities like this to get involved in our area and feel genuinely welcomed; if I were not in the military, I might not be afforded chances like this.”

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