After many months of research, writing and plenty of late nights, the seniors at Terrace who take the STEM 12 English class finally put their projects up for judging at the annual Washington State Science Engineering Fair (WSSEF) this past April. STEM 12 English has been taught at Terrace for many years now, giving seniors in STEM experience in a self-driven research project, which they submit to present at WSSEF. WSSEF for the high school competition has a variety of sectors for projects ranging from mathematics and robotics to biotechnology and translational science. STEM 12 as a class gives students the experience of conducting research from narrowing a topic to writing the paper and presenting their findings. For the fair, they make scientific posters and prepare a research paper as well as a binder with the iterations and references of the project.
This year terrace sent a few dozen students to Bremerton in Kitsap County, where WSSEF is held. Many seniors received first place for their projects and some even won scholarships. Five seniors won the Museum of Flight ‘Sights of Flight’ special award which gives them admission to Seattle’s Museum of Flight. Compared to previous years, Terrace STEM did especially well the last two years with an increase of first place, and a 17% increase in second places so the quality of projects is reflected by the spring push in the program with STEM teachers after attending a training in April 2023.
After being nominated by a student, Bryan Smelcer, a long-time teacher of STEM 12, won the Science Teacher of the Year award. For many years, Smelcer has been motivated to help students find projects they are passionate about, further aiding them in the fair.
