FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can anyone bring their project to the STEM Fair?

The OUSD STEM Fair is a celebration of STEM learning from all Oakland Unified School District schools. All schools are invited to participate. Leadership teams from schools determine which projects they want to submit to the district STEM Fair. Many elementary and middle schools have school STEM Fairs from which top projects are selected. High schools and Academies select top projects from their showcases, Capstone projects, and other public exhibitions of students work. 

How do schools pick which projects go to the OUSD STEM Fair?

Schools are empowered to set their own criteria for determining which projects best represent their STEM programs. Some schools choose to showcase projects from culminating grades (i.e. 4th and 5th grade projects or senior capstone projects) whereas other schools choose to showcase the breadth of their STEM programs, (i.e. a set number of projects per grade or per course.) At some schools, teams of teachers select projects. At other sites, they are chosen by outside judges, such as elementary science fair judges or high school advisory boards. Talk to your teacher to find out how your school selects projects.

Can students work on their project outside of school? Can parents and family members help?

While most projects at the OUSD STEM Fair were initiated in class--most began as class assignments--many of the projects displayed at the OUSD STEM Fair were completed outside of school hours. Parents and family members are encouraged to offer help and guidance to our young scientists and engineers! This can look like proofreading a final draft of written materials outside of school, helping a student to assemble a display board--or volunteering in the classroom to help groups of students with their work. 

The OUSD STEM Fair is not a display of take-home projects, like many adults experienced in their youth.

Rather, it's a celebration of the STEM learning that happens in OUSD schools. For most elementary schools, this looks like a science fair in which students put together "final drafts" of science investigations on a display board, or complete investigations that are extensions of the learning that happens every week as part of the FOSS Science Curriculum, the award-winning curriculum from the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley for which every TK-8 class receives materials kits for hands-on science. 

At the middle and high school levels, projects represent the learning that happens in core math and science classes, as well as STEM electives, such as computer science, engineering, health and bioscience, architecture, and more. As projects become more complex, many students student more time outside of class finishing their projects. 

What happens after the STEM Fair? Is there a County STEM Fair? National STEM Fair?

The OUSD STEM Fair is a celebration of student STEM learning, not a competition. However some projects displayed at the OUSD STEM Fair are also projects submitted to competitive fairs, like the Alameda County Science and Engineering Fair (ACSEF) from which projects can compete at the International Science and Engineering Fairs (ISEF). High School students who are interested in competitive science and engineering fairs are encourage to participate in UC Berkeley FAST: Future Advancers of Science & Technology, an extra-curricular program open to all OUSD high school students through which students receive year-long mentorship from a UC Berkeley graduate student.

Looking for Inspiration? Check out these projects from previous years:

Each year, after the STEM Fair, a team of educators from OUSD and local STEM professionals from such institutions at UC Berkeley, the Lawrence Hall of Science, and the Chabot Space & Science Center convenes to review projects from the OUSD STEM Fair. Here are some of the projects that caught the attention of those experts. To read more about the process, read the report of the 2024 STEM Fair Data Dive.

Need help getting started?

Make a copy of this Google Slides Template, add your own content and formatting, and then print the pages to paste on your STEM Fair project board.