The public is invited to see the work of 85 students, who have created 55 projects for the annual Science & Engineering Fair on Saturday, March 1. Students have created projects for a variety of competition categories, addressing real-world issues and applying the scientific method to test their ideas. The public will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite project, which will receive the Community Choice Award. Judges will select the top six projects to advance to the 2025 California Science & Engineering Fair, being held virtually in April.

The Science Fair is being held in conjunction with the annual STEAM Expo at TCOE’s Mooney Administration Building and Planetarium & Science Center from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on March 1. The events are free to the public and will feature plenty of hands-on science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) activities for Central Valley families and children of all ages.

Attendees can try their hands at aerospace engineering by designing and launching their own rockets. STARBASE Porterville – the newly opened STEAM lab at Porterville Military Academy – will be on-hand with a display of drones. Community booths also include AIMS Center for Math and Science Education, Arts Visalia Visual Art Center, Cal Fire Tulare Unit, Circle J and SCICON, Master Gardeners Tulare/Kings Counties, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Tulare County Sheriff's Crime Lab, the Sycamore Valley Academy FIRST LEGO Explorer Club, and the University of California Merced, Natural Reserve System.

A Cardboard Challenge area will be created for families to envision and construct anything they can imagine out of cardboard. Attendees will also have the opportunity to create numerous art-related projects, including Popsicle stick harmonicas, shape bubbles, string art, an art mural, Newton’s color wheel, and more!

Event organizers are bringing engaging technology and coding opportunities for children to try, including Bee Bots, Ozobots, Cubelets, and Sphero indi car robots and robotic components.

The planetarium at TCOE’s Liberty Center – south of the Mooney Administration Building – will offer several shows of “From Dream to Discovery: Inside NASA.” In this new show, audiences will experience the excitement of today’s space missions on a journey from NASA’s test facilities all the way to Pluto. The documentary chronicles the adventure and extremes of spacecraft engineering – from the design of missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope and New Horizons, to the rigors of testing, launch, and space operations. Planetarium seating is very limited. Free tickets for the shows will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the STEAM Expo. Once planetarium doors close for a show, no late seating and no reentry is permitted.

A number of food trucks will be on hand, including Taquizas Gonzalez, Snackology & More, and Kettle Queen.

For more information, visit www.tcoe.org/STEAMExpo.

Four schools from Visalia and Woodlake Unified School Districts were recently recognized as 2025 Model Community Day Schools and 2025 Model Continuation Schools. Each honoree will be recognized at the California Continuation Education Association Plus Conference in April.

Model Community Day Schools

Creekside Community Day School (Visalia) and Woodlake Community Day School were both recognized as Model Community Day Schools. They were also highlighted by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond in a California Department of Education press release last Thursday.

Creekside Community Day School

Creekside stands out for its personalized approach to education, robust support systems, and commitment to addressing the academic, social, and emotional needs of its diverse student population… Students spoke about the profound impact of their teachers’ patience, care, and understanding. One student shared, “The teachers here actually listen to us, and that makes us feel like we matter.”

Woodlake Community Day School

The school serves as a model setting because of its focus on hands-on learning, emotional and behavioral regulation, and academic readiness. The school, set on a 55-acre farm, offers students an uncommon experience... The farm, staffed by a full-time curator, reports that students become so invested in their role with the farm that they often show up hours before school to help with planting and other tasks.

For more on Creekside and Woodlake, and the complete list of Model Community Day Schools, visit https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr25/yr25rel10.asp.

Model Continuation Schools

Sequoia High School (Visalia) and Bravo Lake High School (Woodlake) were two of 74 schools selected from across the state as Model Continuation Schools.

On the Model Continuation Schools, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond said, “The priority of our Model Continuation High Schools is to give students more than a diploma. The teachers and administrators aim to provide students with a student-centered approach that meets their diverse academic, social, and emotional needs and opportunities to explore options beyond high school, preparing students for the future whether they choose to pursue further education or join the workforce.”

For more on Model Continuation Schools, visit https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr25/yr25rel11.asp.

Editor: Robert Herman, Communications Director
Contributors: Nayirah Dosu, Jennifer Fisher, Paula Terrill, Juliana Davidian

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