The High School Science Fair has just ended and over the past few months, as the logistics officer, I have been quite occupied with organizing the logistics of the science fair as well as preparing my individual science fair project. Due to COVID-19 safe-distancing policies and other restrictions, I have faced quite a few problems with allocating spaces to each group in order to adhere by the COVID-19 rules. In order to overcome these challenges, the leadership team and I decided to split the number of groups participating into 2 main groups in which the 1st group will present on Monday and Tuesday and the 2nd group will present on Wednesday and Thursday. This way, we were able to adhere to the COVID-19 restrictions as well as have successful presentations during the Science Fair.

Moreover, at the start of Science Society, my goal was to introduce more interactive sessions as well as try to make the science fair more inclusive in terms of the number of participants from different clubs and I believe that my goal was accomplished since we had various interactive sessions which consisted of watching videos as well as discussions on new and pre-existing scientific discoveries. Additionally, this year, we had over 60 participants in the Science Fair which is double the amount of participants we had last year and we formed new partnerships with other clubs such as Neuroscience Society for the Science Fair.

Overall, I  believe that I was able to fulfill my goals set a few months ago and I was able to overcome the challenges faced when figuring out the logistics of the science fair.

My Science Fair Project

The High School Science Fair has just ended and I am extremely happy about how smoothly it went. I had implemented the different logistical additions that I had decided to implement during my investigation and preparation process. Additionally, even after the preparation stage the leadership team and I discussed different ideas as well. While I was brainstorming this with the leadership team, the members had many disagreements regarding potential solutions alongside the ones we had chosen to implement. However, I was able to take into account everyone’s ideas and combine them to create a plan. Collaboratively, we realized that some people may unconsciously break the one-meter rule, hence, in order to further ensure that a one-meter distance was maintained between the presenter and the viewers, placed safe-distancing stickers on the floor to remind them of the regulations. I was really happy to see that the rest of the leadership team had helped me set up all of the tables, boards, posters, and signs the week before the science fair. Through our collaboration, we were able to quickly set everything up and ensure that everything went according to plan and our vision was accomplished. Even during the Science Fair, we would walk around (I would walk around when I was not presenting) the presentation areas to ensure everything was going smoothly because safe-distancing ambassadors were also present, hence, if they found that regulations were not being followed, then they may complain to the government agencies. Through our collaborative monitoring system, we were able to ensure that COVID-19 measures were enforced. Therefore, while collaboration amongst strong-minded people can cause disagreements when making important decisions, it can also be proven to be beneficial as things can be done quickly and efficiently when all minds are put together and concentrated in specific areas.

These are some pictures from the science fair:

In Kolkata GC, we planned Kahaani, the annual dance showcase, and as the Head of Finance, we devised a successful solution to raise funds from the showcase. Due to COVID-19, we could not have a live audience, therefore, we decided to film the event and share it with the UWC community. To raise funds, my team and I collaborated and found a solution that raised funds from the show from lunchtimes. During lunchtimes, we decided that we would go around raising awareness regarding Voice of World and the mentally and physically disabled community in Kolkata and ask for donations. Additionally, when the recording of the show was sent to the UWC community, we also attached a donation link which received quite a positive response. These methods were quite successful were we able to raise a total of $3494. Although this amount was lower than what we have raised in the past pre-covid, this amount is still a very big amount which can bring about a large impact on Voice of World in Kolkata. I believe that I showed great initiative by launching this new idea. In the future when the condition of COVID-19 improves, and there are live performances for Kahaani, I believe that the current solution we found will also help us increase the amount of money raised.

The High School Science Fair is an annual fair that is hosted by Science Society, a club that I am a part of. This year, the science fair was quite different due to COVID-19. Due to the COVID-19 safe-distancing measures that needed to be enforced, planning out the logistics has been quite difficult. As the logistics officer of the Science Society, I am in charge of organizing the event with the Chairs of Science Society. In order to ensure a successful science fair, firstly I had to investigate whether the Science Fair was a possible event to happen in lieu of COVID-19. After we received confirmation from the school, my team and I proceeded to plan the logistics of it. As planning the event in COVID times is a challenge, in order to overcome this, we decided to ensure that there is a one-meter distance between the presenter and the viewers by placing a table in between. The table will not only allow the presenters to keep their computers and other items of their project on the table, but this will help enforce the one-meter safe-distancing measure. Additionally, in order to reduce the crowd, we decided to use the science pod as well as different science rooms as these were spacious areas.

After we finalised the award categories (Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, & Applied Sciences Awards) and the dates, we published the Science Fair advertisement posters online in our school portal and put them around the school. When we sent out the registration form for the science fair, we had an influx of registrations with approximately 80 participants. This put us in a dilemma as this was the highest number of registrations the science fair has received in many years. This meant that in terms of the logistics, the areas we chose may be too small and there were no other venues and places available. Therefore, to tackle this issue, we decided to allocate specific dates for different projects to reduce a large crowd. Additionally, we have allocated 2 science teachers for each project for marking in order to determine the winners and runner-ups for the science fair for each of the award categories.

The process of investigating and preparing for the event has allowed me to develop and improve my skill of adaption because, through the investigation and preparation process of the event, I learned how to better adapt to the COVID-19 situation and find solutions to problems around them. The High School Science is in 2 weeks and hopefully, it goes smoothly.