Breakthrough Vision: PVS Science Fair Preparation

Get ready for exciting technological models and scientific breakthroughs. The annual PVS science fair is coming up soon and middle schoolers in Mrs.Shampa Mannan’s 6th & 7th grade science classes are already brainstorming ideas. The PVS Science Fair will be held virtually after Spring Break from March 22-25 Insha’Allah. Students who do well in the PVS Science fair will qualify for the CBU science fair in April.

Mrs. Mannan organized a virtual middle school science fair discussion for 6th & 7th grade students and invited two PVS high school students to share their experiences. Aribah Morshed and Yasmeen Mannan, now freshmen, both won at the PVS and CBU science fairs and were Top 300 Broadcom Masters winners in middle school. They shared their experiences and their journey in developing winning projects. “Sixth graders are new to many things this year and with the remote learning, I wanted to make sure no students feel left out and unaware of the science fair process,” said Mrs. Mannan. “I wanted to help the students understand that the science fair should be a good and fun experience. Furthermore, with remote learning, students need various ways to learn and be engaged. I gave talks about scientific methods in the beginning of the year but now as we are approaching the science fair, I really want to make sure students take the research and the time lines seriously.”

Mrs. Mannan invited these two high schoolers to build connections with middle school students and also create a forum to discuss science and engineering projects. The rules for the science and engineering fairs are different and it's important students are aware of the different types. Aribah Morshed first won at the Memphis-Area Joint Engineers Council for her engineering project in 6th grade and she can relate to these new anxious and curious 6th graders. Yasmeen and Aribah presented excellent PowerPoint slides to inform the students how to do the different science and engineering experiments. Yasmeen Mannan said, “It’s important to do a project that you really like and have a passion for it because the judges can tell that if you are interested in your work.” The 6th & 7th grade students enjoyed this fun remote discussion and are looking forward to the PVS and CBU science fairs coming up this spring.