03.06.2019

Beacon inaugurates its first Science Fair

The 1st Beacon Science Fair counted on the engagement of Elementary and Middle School students, who started their research and the preparation for their projects at the beginning of the year. During the week of the event, they also participated in workshops given by professionals.

The 5th and 6th grades (Y5 and Y6) welcomed microbiologist Carolina Berra, who explained what microorganisms are, their benefits and harms to the human body. The 7th and 8th grades (Y7 and Y8) learned about the Chernobyl Disaster and Nuclear Energy with chemist Rafael Garcia. Finally, Vinicius Soares, a student’s father, talked about Discoveries by Chance with the 3rd grade (Y3).

Besides the rehearsals and the assembly of the stands, the fair counted on an internal visitation for Beacon staff and students, coming to a close with the parents´ visitation. The students were absolutely thrilled with the presentation, well acquainted with the subject, and involved with the investigation process. The visitors were impressed with the result! The projects, experiences and pictures were displayed in the school spaces, and the stands in the auditorium were divided into three main themes: “Earth and Universe”, “Life”, and “Matter and Energy”. 

With a view to the first edition of Beacon’s Science Fair, the teachers from Elementary and Middle School participated in a professional training about the scientific method, during the planning week back in January.

From this training, they thus became prepared for a collective and transdisciplinary construction of the research and investigation process for the students from the 1st to 8th grades (Y1 to Y8). During 4 months, the students experienced every stage of the work, starting from the choice of the theme. The selection emerged based on their experience, from curiosity they already had, or even along the lines of the research related to an ongoing Unit of Inquiry.

The next step was the elaboration of a guiding question. The students tried to answer it,  which was configured as the creation of hypotheses. Then, they performed experiments and research work on books and websites to validate their hypotheses. Next, they went on to write down information and discoveries, detailing every step of the scientific method and the research procedures. From this point onwards, the students decided whether or not to make a final product and started the rehearsal for the presentation. 

The whole project counted on the participation and collaboration of teachers of all areas of interest. The students became involved with the theme in classes, such as  activities with the English language, for example, wherein they learned the scientific vocabulary and read informative texts. In Math, they constructed graphs and tables and worked with data analysis. In Design Lab classes, they built prototypes for their projects. This was an event of great engagement that resulted in incredible discoveries.