The Ventura County Science Fair brings together students, teachers, and scientists from around the county to:

·         Develop in students an awareness of the importance of science in their lives and to cultivate students’ interest in science.

·         Support students’ acquisition of scientific knowledge and research skills.

·         Extend and reinforce the Science Content Standards for California Public Schools.

·         Recognize and reward outstanding achievement in science.

·         Motivate students to undertake and complete scientific inquiries in their special areas of interest.

Science Fair Participants

Each year thousands of Ventura County student’s, in grades 6-12, complete science research projects at their schools, and nearly 1,000 of those students earn the right to compete at the Ventura County Science Fair.

Approximately 75 of our top students are invited to the State Science Fair to compete with their peers from across California where many of our past students have placed in the top three for their category and some have been awarded Project of the Year.

Science Fair Judges

Approximately 275 science, engineering, and industry professionals from throughout Ventura County volunteer their time to serve as judges for the Ventura County Science Fair.

Science Fair Tradition

In 1954, two Ventura County students entered projects in the California State Fair in Los Angeles , which had started two years earlier. Since there was no Ventura County Science Fair at the time, Frank Aldon Nowak, a Santa Paula High School senior, was forced to enter his project, "Amateur Astronomy," directly to the state competition. Likewise for Oxnard High School sophomore Lloyd Raymond Taylor, whose project was titled, "Progress in Radio and Communications."

The following year, 1955, the Ventura County Science Fair was established, and by 1957, the VCSF was sending eight young budding scientists, mostly from Ventura and Oxnard , to the state contest. Project titles from that year included, "Crystal Structure," "Human Blood," "Our Mineral Oil Friend," and "How Would You Describe This Leaf?"

Interest and participation in the Ventura County Science Fair increased greatly in the 1980s, a decade in which Ventura County experienced dramatic population growth. Morley Cohen, longtime science teacher who served as director of the VCSF from 1997-2001, pointed out another reason for the Science Fair's surge in popularity. "A lot of it has to do with the county's scientific culture and economy," Cohen said. "Companies like Amgen, Baxter and Imation arrived, and their presence has had a very strong spillover effect into our communities, schools and the students."

Cohen, who teaches at Mesa Verde Middle School in Moorpark, is a vigorous supporter of the Ventura County Science Fair, having brought hundreds of students to the VCSF since the early 1980s. He has seen students return to the fair years later as judges, and also teachers bringing a new generation of young scientists to the event. "I've had parents come to me and say how their sons or daughters became medical doctors, or got jobs in a scientific field, and that it was because of the Science Fair," Cohen said, "It's amazing how many times that's happened."

Wanda Dziuk, like Cohen, is a former director of the VCSF. A retired teacher, she serves as a Science Fair committee member, and says the event has maintained its popularity over the years because it encourages students to become creative and to think. "It challenges students," Dziuk said. "It challenges them to take a problem, and through proper use of the Scientific Method, follow through with the problem and carry it to its conclusion. They then publish their findings and show it to their peers."

Dziuk added: "The Scientific Method is something you can carry over to real life. It shows you how to follow through. It's appropriate for any occupation."