My Little Scientist

Earlier this week, we found out that Vale had been 1 of about 10 kids in his school chosen to attend and participate in the Long Beach School District Science Fair. We had made plans to go to my friend's house in Perris and had to have a long talk about whether or not he wanted to go and take part. After a few days of thinking about it, he decided that my friends house and the lake by her house weren't going anywhere and that he wanted to go.

So, yesterday we packed up his project presentation and headed for Cabrillo High School in Long Beach. My first thought as I rounded he corner was... this place looks like a prison. The school is completely made of concrete, has a fence encircling it, and barbed wire weaved in and out of the coils at the top of the fence. Turns out, it was a high school!!

We got there at 9:30 and found out that it would be 11am before Vale had to present his project. So, we had an hour and a half to roam around the fair. It was quite an affair. It took up 2 gymnasiums and consisted of all of the Elementary, Middle, and High School's in the district. I don't know how many schools were there but it was packed! To top it off, it was about 90 degrees and hotter inside. There were some really neat exhibits: reptiles and the Aquarium of the Pacific were Vale's favorite. After looking at the exhibits and projects, Vale and I found a cool spot in the shade and Vale confessed that he was very nervous, felt sick, and was afraid that no one would like his project. After reassuring him that he was only going to be presenting his project to one person (not a whole audience), and that just like us walking around there were people looking at his project.

He felt better by the time we got to the gym and did a very good job presenting his project to the 2 reviewers who are Science teachers in the school district. There were no winners, this was just to present projects and get ideas for next year. I think that also took a lot of pressure off of Vale... he is such a poor loser!!