CSArts-SGV hosts its first annual science fair

Science might not be the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of an arts high school, but that doesn’t mean that arts high schools don’t value the sciences and logical thinking and problem solving.

On Dec. 1, CSArts-SGV hosted its first annual science fair. Open to all students grades 9-11, the science fair gave students an opportunity to explore whatever topic they were interested in through application of the scientific method, even in an arts high school setting.

The 65 projects covered a wide variety of topics, ranging from molecular biology to astronomy to chemistry. Students were judged by various Duarte community volunteers with science backgrounds who listened to each student present their projects.

Awards were given in each of the categories, and thirteen overall winners were chosen based on a rubric to represent CSArts in the Los Angeles County Science Fair in March. While the students worked independently on their projects for CSArts’ science fair, students advancing to the LA County Science Fair will have a chance to work with their teachers before the event.

“I have always been interested in going into a science-related field,” freshman Angel Ruiz says. “My favorite part about the science fair is being able to see what everyone is interested in and everyone’s different perspectives because everyone finds solutions a different way, which can be shown through the way their experiments were conducted.”

“I liked looking at the other creative project ideas… and I really enjoyed running my experiments though I came across challenges in getting accurate results,” junior Valerie Gonzalez says.

Other students agree that there were multiple challenges in getting accurate results for experiments, but also found that it taught them various ways to think creatively to create solutions. Some also felt that being encouraged to participate in a science fair challenged them to step out of their comfort zone to learn new things and see things from a different perspective.

“We hope that through designing their own projects would allow students to discover their interests in science and develop their problem solving and application skills,” Ms. Miller, a biology teacher says.

CSArts looks forward to hosting a science fair again next year, and encourages all students to participate. Even though an arts high school might be best known for, well, the arts, that isn’t to say that the sciences are not an option for its students.