Western UP Science Fair 2006

It was an amazing day for science at Michigan Tech on Thursday, March 16, as 259 students in grades 4-8 from 17 schools in Houghton, Baraga, Keweenaw, and Gogebic Counties descended upon the Memorial Union Building at MTU to display their scientific prowess.

The students had been required to follow the scientific method as they designed an experiment on any topic of interest in science. They gained valuable problem-solving skills and learned to communicate their findings effectively through a written report, a visual display, and an interview with judges.

The projects (display, report, and personal interview) were judged by two judges and their scores were averaged. Ribbons were awarded for both pairs and individuals for first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth places in each grade level. Nearly 600 students and parents packed into 135 Fisher to hear the results at the Awards Ceremony.

More than 120 Michigan Tech faculty, staff and students, plus a dozen Finlandia students, as well as members of the community, volunteered their time to serve as judges, conduct science festival activities, and help manage logistics at the science fair.

The science fair, now in its eighth year, is hosted by the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, MTU Omega Chi Epsilon Chemical Engineering Honor Society, and the MTU Ecosystem Science Center.

View results and photos on the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics & Environmental Education’s website:

The Western U.P. Center is a partnership of Copper Country & Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School Districts and Michigan Technological University, serving 20 school districts and the communities in Houghton, Baraga, Gogebic, Ontonagon and Keweenaw Counties.

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