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Ashland fair boosts science Photo by Bob Pennell Ashland High School sophomores Molly Douglas, left, and Erin Norton weigh a goldfish during an experiment to determine the amount of oxygen fish take from water. Event marks parent group's success backing up school lab classes By WENDY SIPOREN ASHLAND -- A small orange fish swims rapidly around its temporary home in a 400 milliliter beaker, oblivious to the fact that some of its peers have perished in the name of science. The deaths were an unwanted side effect of a combined chemistry and biology experiment to measure the amount of oxygen consumed by goldfish of varying sizes. Open to public What: Ashland High School Science Fair When: 6 to 8 p.m. April 12 Where: Ashland High School commons Admission: free It's just one of about 160 science projects to be presented to the community at the second annual Ashland High School Science Fair sponsored by a three-year-old parent group called Local Advocates for Science Education and Resources, or LASER. The fair will feature interactive computer demonstrations, hands-on experiments and student findings about plant growth, friction, electrical circuits, chemistry, water quality and the propagation of native plants. Visitors also will be able to catapult quarters and join in a science bowl match with the high school teams. Concession proceeds will be channeled back to next year's fair and raffle tickets will support summer science programs for students. "We are interested in having the fair be interactive for all ages," said physics teacher and department chair Kate Kennedy. "It's also a place for so many people in the community to come together and talk about the issues raised in the experiments." The aim of the fair, says LASER member Meg Brown-Olsen, is to create more interest and generate excellence in science. Rather than focusing on students' independent research, the fair features in-class work. "We're trying to be inclusive," explained Brown-Olsen. "We're trying to project the idea that anybody can do science. You don't have to be a nerd to enjoy science." For those students already interested, "it gives them a goal ... (and) an opportunity to show off their ideas. "It also teaches the community and parents about the new curriculum based on observation rather than just writing down and memorizing facts," she said. LASER has been instrumental in promoting this new emphasis on scientific inquiry as a teaching method. When three parents got together to talk about the science program a little over three years ago, funding cutbacks had enlarged classes and cut labs. When the group asked the teachers what they needed, their answer was more help. So in conjunction with school staff, LASER members wrote a grant to the Ashland Schools Foundation for $7,500 to fund six laboratory aides, one for each science teacher at the school. Now in its third year of funding, teachers say the program often means more work for them, but it also has resulted in a significant increase in the number of labs offered and more complex laboratory demonstrations. It means teachers spend less time washing test tubes, ordering supplies and setting up computers and more time preparing or teaching classes. "It hasn't freed up time, but the work is more effective," said Kennedy. Students often learn more through lab work. "The ones that learn the most are the ones that find out they are wrong about something they thought," she said. Another positive byproduct of the lab aide program is more contact between professors at Southern Oregon University and the high school. Some SOU science majors who worked as lab aides have decided to go on and get their teaching credentials. "The synergy when you have parents and teachers and the community working together is what's happening," said Kennedy. "The best thing is everyone says that it's better for kids." LASER's third program is the science bowl teams, coached by LASER president Wes Reynolds and Kennedy. In only its second year of existence, the program's two high school teams took first and second place at a regional tournament in February. Seniors Jessica Reynolds, Max Doty, James Marr and junior Johanna Salazar-Lazaro will travel to Washington, D.C. to compete in the National Science Bowl May 5-8. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA