We are the Board for the duPont Manual Regional Science and Engineering Fair (DMRSEF), a group of individuals from the Louisville community who are passionate about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education among school kids.
Our organization is responsible for producing the duPont Manual Regional Science and Engineering Fair and paying for Best of Fair recipients to attend Intel ISEF each year. The objective of the fair is to give an opportunity to the high school students of duPont Manual School in Louisville Ky, to present their research projects to external reviewers and in the process pick students to represent the school at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
Support Science Where Science Happens
The state of science education in US public schools is disappointing to say the least. The US ranks #21 compared to other OECD countries. Until such time as we can reverse course, we need to support the science students that are achieving in our schools now.
In Louisville, we have a school that is beating the odds. Last year, the students at duPont Manual High School won more awards at Intel ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair) than any other public high school in the US and all but one private high school (The Harken School from, no surprise, Silicon Valley). That's right... a school from Kentucky beat every other state! That's like Harvard beating University of Kentucky in basketball. Or the US beating India in cricket.
The Problem
DuPont Manual High School sends more students to ISEF each year than the school or PTSA can afford. Over the last 5 years alone, we've had 62 students qualify to go to ISEF. The cost to send a student to ISEF ranges from $1,500 to $2,000 depending on the location of the fair.
The school can not afford this cost. And the PTSA is responsible for meeting the wider needs of the school. Unfortunately, budget cuts in Kentucky public schools since 2008 mean that local companies' generosity is already tapped out helping the school district in other ways.
So far, we've raised $9,000 to cover the cost of producing our science fair. These funds came primarily from parents who contributed to 5 fundraising events in the Fall. This IndieGogo campaign is to pay for the cost of projects that qualify for ISEF, the Super Bowl of high school science.
These students deserve our support...
How they do it (hard work and good judges)
DuPont students win because they've put in the hard work. They've iterated. They are passionate and persistent. And they've been there before. This isn't their first rodeo...
DMRSEF honors their effort by recruiting the highest quality science fair judges we can find. It's not easy finding judges that understand the student's projects but it is essential to selecting projects that have the best chance of winning at Intel ISEF.
Who is going to ISEF 2015?
Meet some of the students and projects vying for the opportunity to attend ISEF 2015 in the video below. These are real science and engineering projects, not just another app for the Apple Store. After the KY State Science Fair, we will update this page with the names of the students and projects that qualified for Intel ISEF 2015.
Why Not Science?
'Professional sports leagues like the NBA and NFL have teamed up with the NCAA and brands like Nike, Adidas and Under Armour to IDENTIFY and DEVELOP young talent. Why isn't the US doing the same for science?
Attending ISEF is a life-changing experience for a young scientist or engineer.
A good start...
By contributing to this campaign, you are supporting the message that science education matters. Send the message to Kentucky (and every other state) that scientists and engineers are paying attention. We need a critical mass of science education success stories and this campaign is a good start.
What Happens When You Donate?
Indiegogo uses firstgiving.com to process donations for non-profit campaigns. The gift acknowledgement will come from support@firstgiving.com, via e-mail. The e-mail will list DMRSEF as the recipient of your gift. DMRSEF is a 501(c)3 non-profit, which allows a possible tax deduction for your gift.
Contributions in excess of the goal will be used to pay the travel costs of future winners.
duPont Manual: Science Happens Here
Thank you for your support!
