By Angi McAndrews

I.J. Holton Intermediate School Principal

I. J. Holton Intermediate School will host the fifth annual STEAM Expo for third to sixth grade students in Austin on Friday.

A STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) Expo is very similar to a traditional science fair, where students conduct experiments or research to solve problems or answer questions and then display their results for a panel of judges.

However, given I.J. Holton’s focus on the STEAM methodology and design process, our Expo paves the way for engineering projects, art displays, and musical performances to share the spotlight with science projects.

Students in third to fifth grades participate in traditional science fair experiments. They begin with a question, then make a hypothesis and conduct research about their topic. Next, they design and carry out an experiment, carefully documenting their materials and procedure. Finally, they analyze their results and draw conclusions about their experiment.  Projects this year include “Tooth Decay,” “The Great Candle Race,” “Paw Preference,” “Slime Stain Remover,” and many more.

Once students reach sixth grade, projects turn to innovation where students seek to solve a problem through an invention or enhancement of an existing solution. Students research consumer trends and create prototypes of products to address consumer problems. Projects of innovation this year include the “Un-spillable Cat Bowl,” the “Temperature Pillow,” a “Mail Organizer,” and the “Dance Sock” to name a few.

On Friday morning, more than 50 volunteer judges from across the community will use standardized criteria to judge over 250 projects based on the thoroughness of their research, display, presentation, and overall outcome of the experiment. Students can compete in any of 12 categories, including animal science, behavioral science, chemistry, energy and transportation, earth science, engineering, environmental science, family and consumer science, health science, microbiology, physical science, and plant science.

Over the course of the morning, projects will be judged by three community volunteers and students earn the average of the three scores. Area organizations such as the Mower County Soil and Water Conservation District and Hormel Research and Development will review projects using their own criteria to award special honors to projects.

On Friday afternoon, I.J. Holton will hold an open house to display both fifth and sixth grade STEAM Expo projects and art displays and will host musical performances from students.

Please consider joining us to see what this bright and talented generation has to offer! Our doors are open to you from 1:45-2:45 pm.