The Orange County Science & Engineering Fair (OCSEF) is an annual event organized to encourage the youth of our county to learn more about STEM and to consider careers in the STEM field. Judges play a critical role in the science fair experience. Your interviews with students can affect students profoundly, sometimes altering their career …
Good projects rely on hypothesis – both in science and engineering design. What is the key, then, to formulating winning hypothesis questions? Mrs. Jelica Campos, a teacher at St. Bonaventure School in Orange County (and also an instructor at the OCSEF Academy) gives us the perfect step by step on how to do this. Spoiler alert: to …
Dr. D. Helmeste, November 2020. Daiga Helmeste, PhD, is a well-established Psychiatry & Human Behavior, School of Medicine Professor and also a teacher at the OCSEF Academy. We asked her guidance on things to keep in mind when choosing a research topic for a science fair project. The Orange County Science and Engineering Fair is …
Do COVID-19 and the Safe at Home order affect students’ participation in science fair projects? According to Huy Pham, a science teacher at Westminster High School, they do. “I had a lot of students wanting to participate in OCSEF, as it is one of the opportunities still available to them,” Mr. Pham says. “But with …
Could there be a better time to do your science project than during COVID?! While you’re stuck at home, it may be a good time to think about an exciting STEM project that you can focus on while we all wait for the vaccine. Registration for the 2021 Orange County Science & Engineering Fair opens …
OCSEF’s 2020 Winners announcement revealed that University High School and Villa Park High School are tied at the 1st place this year with 12 awards each. We reached out to Mr. Tim Smay, an AP and CP Physics teacher at University High School and a prominent tutor for student OCSEF projects, to find out how the project process looks …
With COVID-19 still threatening to cancel the on-site fair, the OCSEF committee is preparing to have next year’s fair either on-site or online, as we carefully watch all the news and developments surrounding the global pandemic. OCSEF announces January 4th, 2021 as the opening day for project registrations. The Scientific Review Committee Applications (prerequisite to …
When Jan Burnett first signed up for the 1964 Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF), she had no idea that she would meet her future husband there. Because their last names were close together alphabetically, Jan Burnett’s and Richard Cannon’s projects were right next to each other at the state competition. The two spent …