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On the Saturday before Halloween, hundreds of students and their parents went from booth to booth participating in science activities at an annual Fall Festival and Learning Fair. The Fall Festival and Learning Fair is a valuable annual partnership where culturally relevant teaching engages each child in hands-on, standards-based science lessons. This event is a joint venture between parents and faculty of a culturally and linguistically diverse K-8 school and teachers from San Diego State University. The Fall Festival and Learning Fair is an excellent tool for building a community of science learners that can be replicated in other schools. All students need to learn and use scientific core ideas and practices. The annual festival, described in this article, creates culturally relevant learning opportunities for students and parents.

For more than half a century, the annual science fair has been a fixture in many a school's academic life, both for science teachers, who guide classes through the hands-on experience of researching topics of interest, and for students, who often hectically put the finishing touches on their work the night before it is exhibited in the school gym or other public space. From there, winning submissions can advance to district or regional science fairs and--with enough scientific know-how and inspiration, as well as school and parental support--to national science competitions. It's a pathway that, for years, has distinguished up-and-coming scientists and has provided a glowing addition to their college applications. While higher-profile international events--from the Intel fair, to the Siemens Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition, to the recent efforts of Disney and Google--are going strong, there's rising concern about the grassroots science fairs that feed them. Meanwhile, even as some local science competitions shrink, the number of national science fairs and participants is growing. Los Angeles County Science Fair President Dean Gilbert and other science fair supporters are hoping that the recent emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives, the increased number of high schools specializing in science, and the focus on 21st-century skills, will make science fairs a more attractive proposition.

The article offers four ideas to guide students in creating inquiry-based projects for science fair in California. These ideas include the Topic Selection Wizard, Science Project Timeline, Black Box of Project Improvement, and After-School Project Clinic. The Topic Selection Wizard is a tool that leads students to science project questions that are inquiry-based and practical. The objective of the Science Project Timeline is to require work over the long term and assess project progress at key checkpoints. It is stated that the Black Box of Project Improvement helps to develop a system that encourage students to improve and revise their projects. Furthermore, it mentioned that the After-School Project Clinic helps to level the playing field for children who do not have access to mentors.