SUMMER SCHEDULE - WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

With record temperatures being set in the Sacramento Valley during the last few weeks, it certainly already feels like Summer! Because of this, the Beaker will be switching to summer schedule after this issue. 

That means you’ll receive one issue every other month, instead of every month. That doesn’t mean that we’re not here, hard at work planning for 2021, or that we don’t want to hear about the exciting things you’ve discovered in your own scientific endeavors. In fact, we’re excited to feature you! Are you starting your project for the 2021 Fair? Did you discover a new species of insect in your backyard garden? Or invent the best water balloon launcher, as proven by repeated results launching at your brother or sister? Send us your stories and pictures, and we’ll be sure to feature you! Stay safe, have fun, and keep science-ing!

S cience Buddies Food Science !

Who doesn't love food? It's fun to make, it's fun to eat, it's fun to ...study? That's right! There is a lot of science that goes into the everyday foods that you love. In fact, did you know that today, May 2, is National Herb Day?

This delicious and aromatic holiday takes place on the first Saturday in May. The purpose of this day is encourage people to learn more about herbs and their uses.

Try one of Science Buddies food science projects to explore questions such as how baking ingredients like herbs and spices work, how and why certain ingredients mix well together, and why people's tastes differ. They have everything from, “ Mag-nificent Breakfast Cereal ,” to “ Hot Ice Cream ,” they are here to make sure your summer vacation is full of flavor!

However you choose to delve into the world of herbs today, we hope you have a very delicious afternoon!

A Letter from the Director:

Dear STEM Fair Community:

Thank you for your understanding and support during these unprecedented times in modern memory. For those of you that are unaware, allow me to introduce you to the history of our organization.

The NorCal STEM Education Foundation (NSEF) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was founded in 2001 after the Sacramento Bee gave notice that they would no longer hold the Sacramento Science & Engineering Fair competition due to dwindling participation and lack of profitability. Two of our founding sponsors, the Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG) and the California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS) found this to be unacceptable, as STEM fairs are many students’ first experience communicating their STEM journey, and serve as many scientists’ and engineers’ first foray into  of those subjects (often with the help of their teachers) . Many report eventually pursuing a career in STEM because of their experiences in these fairs as students. With the help of these two founding sponsors, the Sacramento Regional Science & Engineering Fair Foundation (dba NorCal STEM Education Foundation) was born.

Since the start, the organization has insisted on equitability and access. As such the NorCal STEM Education Foundation has never charged for participation in the STEM Fair, has always provided meals for student participants, and has not allowed format changes that could create barriers to participation. Many of our participants do not have access to a personal computer, the internet and/or other technological resources that many of us take for granted each day. We do what we can to prevent these barriers, whenever possible.

That said, our 501(c)3 is entirely funded by private donations, and relies on both the generosity of those sponsors and the altruism of the volunteers who help us run the STEM Fair and our mentoring programs each year. We absolutely cannot function without the continued generosity of the Sacramento Regional STEM Fair community.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank those community members  for their past generosity. We have encountered generous venues (like American River College ), willing to discount the venue rental to allow us a large enough space to host this event each year at a site that exceeds anything we could have dreamed (check out their new STEM Building !); equipment vendors (thank you United Party Rentals , and Associated Sound ) willing to discount the event equipment each year to ensure we don’t have to turn students away because of cost; giving sponsors (both in-kind and monetary), to ensure those items that can’t be sourced for free are funded (thank you PECG ; CAPS ; Beckman Coulter Foundation ; Bayer Crop Science ; ASCE Capitol Branch ; United Way ; AmazonSmile Foundation ; 7Up Bottling of San Francisco, a Keurig Dr. Pepper Company ; ArcherHall ; DJ Jay Hernandez ; Mountain Mike’s Pizza ; Rae VanderWerf; and Zoe Grilli); a dedicated Board of Directors , who ensure actions taken by the Foundation are fair and equitable (thank you President David Miller, Vice President/Treasurer Matt Hanson, Secretary Terry Escarda , and Members Malinda Holland, and Valerie Chenoweth !); generous scientists and engineers who donate their time as Judging and Scoring Team Leads and expertise to ensure judging and scoring can occur (thank you Malinda Holland, Florence Pon, Jeffrey Shu, Rae VanderWerf, Slava Bekker , and Alex Compton ); tireless STEM Professionals who ensure student projects abide by pertinent laws and rules by serving on the Scientific Review Committee (thank you Chair Valerie Chenoweth and Members Sue Bertram, Debra Taylor, Julio Gutierrez, and Stephanie Lewis ); willing volunteer judges who donate their time and expertise to make sure the Fair is judged equitably; kind general volunteers who ensure the work of putting an event on for hundreds of attendees can be completed in just two days; determined parents and teachers who ensure students have the resources, know-how, and ability to compete in the STEM Fair; and spectacular students , willing to devote countless hours to studying their interests in a rational, methodical manner to ensure sound results. I can’t name all of you in those last three categories, lest we overextend the servers, but please know we are truly grateful for all you do.

Thank you for your support. We hope that the 2021 STEM Fair Season brings us all back together. If you would like to join the ranks of our generous sponsors to enable us to continue to function, we would greatly appreciate anything you’re willing and able to give.

Sincerely,

Nadia Compton

Foundation Director

NorCal STEM Education Foundation