Surrey Students gear up for expanded District Science & Innovation Fair

Science-minded students across the district are gearing up for the return of the longest-running science fair in B.C., with the in-person return of the Surrey School District Science & Innovation Fair.

The annual event, now in its 56th year, was held virtually for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with face-to-face exhibits possible once again, the fair is also making some changes for 2023 by adding an ‘Innovation’ category in order to better reflect a name change made to the fair a few years back.

According to organizer and district Helping Teacher Craig Sutton, the addition of the new category more accurately reflects the goals of the fair as it encourages students to move beyond the typical three-panel poster displays traditionally represent science fair projects.

“We’ve been eyeing this change over the past several years and what we really want to do is encourage students to move beyond simple research,” explained Sutton. “We’re hoping students will take their science and learning to the next step by maybe looking at how a project may solve a problem in society or look at innovative solutions as an alternative to a scientific experiment.”

Sutton pointed to past examples of students who have used recycled materials to create a shoe, and then test it by walking around in it, or another who created charcoal pencils out of used toner cartridges from printers. Other projects have included student-developed apps that were designed to identify invasive plant species in B.C. or provide assistance and resources to refugees who have newly arrived in Canada.

“We were beginning to see these kinds of projects where students would invent or design something and it really didn't fit with the experimental judging form that we had been using,” he said. “I remember judging at some school fairs and it was difficult to score the project with our old criteria just because of the way things were defined, but it was clearly an outstanding project.”

Now with a widened scope, the event will allow for even more student creativity and critical-thinking skills to be showcased in new and unique ways.

“These can be through video, PowerPoint, computer simulations or something else entirely,” said Sutton. “It’s exciting because it opens the doors and encourages those students who want to take that extra step and are really invested in understanding something.”

As in past years, the event will feature projects from students in Grades 4-8 and there is no set theme. It will be held at the Surrey campus of Kwantlen Polytechnic University, where it was held prior to the pandemic.

“It’s always a great time, you have parents, students and even campus members wandering around exploring the projects and even though some of the students view it as more of a competition, it’s really just a celebration of their learning,” explained Sutton.

As for scoring, he said while there are judges that will wander the floor and interact with each project, it’s done in a way that is meant to allow students the opportunity learn about presenting their ideas rather than selecting a single best project from amongst the group. 

“We hand out ribbons to every student that participates and the majority of them are gold ribbons, “said Sutton. “It isn’t about highlighting any one student but giving them the opportunity to further their experience.”

The 56th Annual Surrey Schools Science & Innovation Fair takes place Thursday, March 2, 5-8 p.m. in the Spruce Atrium of the KPU Surrey Campus (12666 72 Ave, Surrey). For more information, click here.