Young Scientists Flock to Island University for 30th Annual Valero and A&M-Corpus Christi Regional Science Fair
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – For thirty years, young scientists from across the Coastal Bend have showed off their scientific prowess during the Coastal Bend Regional Science Fair. Valero and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi were proud to host the 2018 fair, with support from co-sponsor Del Mar College. This year was a special one as it marked the 30th anniversary of the fair and, as a true accomplishment for the milestone, had over 700 projects registered and more than 800 participants.
“This is one of the biggest regional fairs in recent history, and is the fourth largest in Texas,” said Katie Crysup, adjunct professor in the College of Education and Human Development and interim director of the Coastal Bend Regional Science Fair. “Getting kids excited about science is a challenge in and of itself, but having them attend science fair can be that spark that ignites their love of science and that’s one of our goals here.”
The Coastal Bend Science Fair invited students from 11 Texas counties to the Island University campus to compete. The fair accepts K-12 students from public, private, home and charter schools who have advanced to the regional level through their local science fairs. Many students return to the science fair year after year to participate.
“Last year I won first place, so I wanted to come back this year,” said Ambriel Cardona, a first grader from Sanders Elementary School in the Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD) whose project investigated which paper towel brands are the most absorbent. “I’m hoping to win again this year.”
In the past, the fair has been held at different venues throughout South Texas, but the Island University is proud to welcome the fair back to campus for the second year in a row.
“These kids come here and they see the college and our students and they think ‘I want to do that one day,’” said Luisa Salazar, master of business administration student and science fair volunteer. “Seeing the Island campus encourages young students to continue their education past high school.”
Projects entered into the fair ranged from physical science entries, such as chemistry, mathematics and robotics, to life science entries like biochemistry, microbiology and animal sciences.
“My partner and I wanted to go outside the box with our project,” said Isabella Serral, a seventh grade student from CCISD’s Baker Middle School. “We decided to take eggs, crack them in half and let them soak in several liquids to see which substance decreased the shells’ weight the most.”
Winning projects from grades 6-12 will advance to the statewide Texas Science and Engineering Fair, held in San Antonio on March 23-24.
Coastal Bend Regional Science Fair winners will be posted here.
