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OCSEF Student Maya Gandhi is a Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge Finalist

Society for Science has announced Maya Gandhi among the 30 finalists in the 2023 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge — the nation’s premier STEM research competition for middle school students. Maya, an 8th Grader at Fairmont Private School – Anaheim Hills Campus, entered the completion with her OCSEF project, titled “Optimizing Plant Microbial Fuel

Two New Videos Available on Picking a Topic for a STEM Project

Students and Educators  —  Check out the videos from the 2023 OCSEF summer workshops on picking a STEM topic for your science fair project.  Each video is about 40 minutes in length. “How to Choose a Science Project – Getting an Idea for a Topic!”  Explore a variety of science fair topics to identify topics that

Cultivating STEM leaders

The Orange County Science and Engineering Fair is sponsored by The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Dr. Arnold Beckman’s interest in science began when he was 9 years old after he found a chemistry book in the family attic. Beckman ended up inventing the modern electronic pH meter and the Spectrophotomer, which, accrording to him,

An Interview with OCSEF’s Teacher of the Year for 2023: Travis Garwick

Travis Garwick, a STEM teacher at Warner Middle School, recently awarded Teacher of the Year at the 2023 Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF). In an interview with Mr. Garwick, he shared his journey to becoming a teacher, his involvement with OCSEF, and his recommendation for students looking to create a successful project. Mr.

OCSEF Announces 2023 Winners!

The 68th Annual Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF) celebrated its winners on Sunday, March 19 at Chapman University. After COVID-19 hit in 2020, this was the first time the award ceremony took place in person. Starting from August of last year, students were invited to submit their STEM projects for OCSEF 2023. By

OCSEF 2023 is Right Around the Corner!

What is happening now? Registration for the 2023 Orange County Science and Engineering Fair is now closed. We’re in the stage of project submittal: Presentation slide deck, Log book, Video Submittal. Project Submittal Deadline: Sat. February 25, 2023 11:59 pm PST. Project submittal will be allowed only for students who have completed their project registration

Five OCSEF Students Named to 2022 Top 300 Broadcom MASTERS

Society for Science and Broadcom Foundation announced the Top 300 competitors in the 2022 Broadcom MASTERS® — the nation’s premier STEM competition for middle school students. Five Orange County Science and Engineering Fair students were named to this prestigious group.   Broadcom MASTERS is a competition for sixth to eighth grade students designed to inspire and

2022 Research and Engineering Design Academy: Registration Opens!

The 2022 Research and Engineering Design Academy is a FREE, virtual series of six, step-by-step, workshops designed to guide students, grades 6 through 12, to complete a science research or engineering project and enter it into the 2023 Orange County Science and Engineering Fair. Two independent sessions are offered Academy 101: For students with no

OCSEF Now Recruiting Teachers for the Mentor Match Program

Science and engineering design research CAN be integrated into your NGSS instruction! OCSEF is recruiting veteran and new STEM teachers to support “under-represented” middle and high school students in science or engineering design research, preparing them to participate in the 2023 Orange County Science and Engineering Fair. Teacher will receive an honorarium of $500 for

How to Pick a Science/Engineering Project Topic

In preparations for the 68th Orange County Science and Engineering Fair in March 2023, our team has created a Powerpoint presentation designed to help you how to pick the topic for your next project. The presentation, based on our preparation workshop, will walk you through from starting the process, personalizing your project, brainstorming, bouncing off