A passion for science and experimentation starts young, as young scientists will display at the district science fair.

Students in kindergarten through eighth grade will show off their science experiments to a panel of high school judges this Saturday, April 16 at Middle School South. The showcase will feature 67 participants and run from 8:30 to 11am, during which anyone is welcome to come watch and talk to the students about their projects.

“[The students] have the opportunity to present […] an experiment, and that is usually middle school kids doing an experiment, or they could do an informational display, so a lot of times you get little kids like first or second graders who really like bugs, so they’ll do a whole display on bugs,” John Walsh, Middle School South assistant principal and science fair organizer, said. “They’re usually doing informational or they’re doing research themselves.”

Also on display will be will be some other science-themed groups and presentations.

“We always try to get other groups for this so kids can see the fun stuff that happens at the science fair as well,” Walsh said. “The [high school] robotics team is going to be demonstrating their robot, Smokey IX. There’s going to be a science presentation of the Hillbilly Science Show, so they get to see that, and they learn about the scientific method.”

The district is trying out the Hillbilly Silly Science Spectacular, a science demonstration that aims to engage audiences with fun science experiments.

“Every year we have a science show,” Walsh said. “The past couple years, [Donald] Castans, [high school science teacher,] has been the goofy mad scientist. This year we’re going with an outside group, who are two guys out of Wisconsin. They do silly stuff with science and show [students] fun stuff you can do with science, very like Bill Nye the Science Guy.”

While there will be shows and demonstrations, the main point of the fair is the young scientists. They show off their passions and receive encouragement from the high school judges.

“We go around to all the science displays for people that have set up posters,” Jack Cooney, senior NHS chair, said. “We grade them and basically tell them, ‘Hey, this is really good!’ or offer them feedback so they know how to improve their science skills. Mostly it’s just that we’re there to encourage them to continue their pursuits in the field of science.”