It was 1995 when Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) started the District-wide science fair.  A lot has changed in 15 years, but the mission of the annual event has not.  To encourage students to ask questions, research answers, conduct experiments, observe results, present findings.

In the last decade, educators and legislators have moved STEM education to the front burner.  (STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)  In the 2006 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush announced the American Competitiveness Initiative to support STEM at all academic levels.

The top three recommendations were to:

• Increase America’s employment ranks in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by improving K-12 science and math education;
• Strengthen the skills of teachers through additional training in science, technology and mathematics;
• Boost the number of students prepared to enter college and graduate with STEM degrees.

Following science fairs held at LPS elementary and middle level schools for students in grades 5-8, the annual Pfizer/LPS Science Fair is THE place to see STEM in action.  This year’s event will be held Tuesday, March 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Pershing Center.  It is FREE and open to the public.

In the past two years, featured speakers have included astronaut Clayton Anderson and conservation photographer Michael Forsberg.  This year, geobiologist Dr. Rebekah Shepard is featured.

When Shepard was at Meadow Lane Elementary School, she told her parents she wanted to be an astronaut.  After Culler Middle School and Lincoln Northeast High School, she majored in Geology at Oberlin College and got her Ph.D. at U.C. Davis.

Shepard studies ancient life forms and life in extreme environments, is a submarine pilot and SCUBA diver, and research has taken her to Antarctica, Australia, Namibia and Canada.

In addition to Pfizer, Inc., event sponsors include Novartis Consumer Health, MDS Pharma Services, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.