SUNY Broome welcomed nearly 100 local fifth through 12th grade students and their families and more than 35 local professionals who served as judges to the 16th annual Southern Tier Scholastic Science Fair (STSSF) on Saturday, March 17. It was a celebration of science and engineering with medals, certificates of excellence and more than $3,000 in prizes awarded.
The Southern Tier Scholastic Science Fair is dedicated to encouraging the Southern Tier’s youth to pursue and excel in scientific and technological inquiries through individual and two-person team science projects. Major sponsors of the STSSF include SUNY Broome, the Triple Cities-NY Chapter of Sigma Xi, Lockheed Martin, IBM and many other local companies and organizations who have contributed awards and volunteer judges. The Science Fair provides a forum for developing academic skills, such as becoming familiar with the scientific method, conducting an independent scientific investigation, oral communication and preparing an organized display. 
This year’s event included a hands-on workshop called For the Health of It! conducted by SUNY Broome Health Science students and Professors Anne Haner-Uncapher, Kimberly McLain, Susan Seibold-Simpson, Holly Jones, Kristen Yetter, Julie Stocum, Joelle Meyn, Amy Cook and Colleen Donahue. Several SUNY Broome students volunteered to guide the student participants around our campus.
It was Full STEAM Ahead! in the afternoon with Matt Sheehan and educators from Broome-Tioga BOCES who regaled the students with exciting interactive STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) activities that encouraged collaborative teamwork.
The following honored guests attended to help us to support, recognize, and congratulate our student participants: Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo; Broome County Executive Jason Garnar; Professor Kenneth Mansfield, Interim Associate Vice President and Dean of STEM at SUNY Broome; Dr. Amy Brandt, Associate Vice President and Dean of Health Sciences and Distance Learning at SUNY Broome; and Dr. Francis Battisti, Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer at SUNY Broome, who imparted words of encouragement to all and expressed that this type of community engagement is so important to our overall educational endeavor.
Thank you to all of the attendees, volunteers and committee members from the Health Sciences Division, the STEM Division, and the community who have worked so hard to make the 2018 Southern Tier Scholastic Science Fair a success! Pictures can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcc_bio/sets/72157694676630005. For more information, please visit www.bccsciencefair.wordpress.com or contact fair co-Chair Dr. Phyllis O’Donnell at odonnellpm@sunybroome.edu.
