Asking for the World : Student Fair Nurtures Interest in Science With a Global View

Six-year old Elijah Venegas stood in front of the Great Wall, greeting visitors entering China.

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The real wall, said a note posted above Elijah’s head, is a 4,160-mile barrier across Northern China built by rival feudal kingdoms between 770 and 476 B.C.

Elijah’s wall, made of cardboard and providing entrance to a make-believe China, was one of more than 300 projects put together by about 2,500 students and 130 teachers in the Santa Paula Elementary School District.

The district’s annual science fair, organized by its seven schools, included projects relating to chemistry, physics, biology, geography, history and the environment.

“Our goal is to have a balance of scientific and social projects,” said James Medina, the principal of Barbara Webster School, where the fair is being held. “Kids are curious about other countries, and this is a great way to educate them and make the experience memorable.”

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Although most schools in the county hold science fairs, the Santa Paula effort differs in that it includes all the district’s teachers and students, Medina said.

Roger Stillman, an eighth-grade science teacher, applauded the result of the months of work. “We were impressed with the level of creativity and dedication the children have shown in putting this together,” he said. “They truly have done a great job.”

This week, the youngsters--from kindergarten to eighth grade--are displaying and visiting their projects in the halls and classrooms of Webster school.

Visitors on Tuesday were greeted by students wearing traditional Japanese garb and by a make-believe dragon that danced to the sounds of a drum.

“Welcome. The China Dragon brings you good luck and fortune,” Desiree Lino, 9, told visitors as she directed them to a table where they were given passports--a requirement to visit the seven continents represented in the fair.

Visitors then were guided to the “Orient Express”--a miniature train put together by eighth-grade students. Although the train was not to be boarded, it was enough to put the youngsters in a traveling mood.

Following train tracks, the youngsters entered their first country, Indonesia, where a dignitary stamped their passport.

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“It’s really cool,” said 8-year-old William Pienta as he looked at a makeshift rain forest. “Everything looks real.”

During the two-hour trip, students passed through a torii gate, visited Moscow’s St. Basil Cathedral and walked under an Egyptian one-humped camel.

They also visited a South American rain forest that displayed colorful snakes, a silver waterfall made of plastic and a hut made of pine needles.

“It was a lot of fun putting the rain forest together,” said 11-year-old Alicia Patron. “We had to be really creative.”

After visiting the seven continents, visitors were led into a hallway where they observed the other science projects, including students’ discoveries about the best way to grow radish seeds and how to make a fireless cooker.

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Computer students showed visitors how they learned to write reports by computer, complete with graphs and sounds--including their own voices.

“They make the project look and sound like a small TV show,” said project organizer Debbie Willeford.

But for 9-year-old Richard Stonebraker, it was the variety of make-believe animals that kept him going.

“I love this stuff,” Richard said as he played with a plastic hummingbird supposedly resting in a forest tree. “I love everything.”