Students in grades 4 to 12 have entered more than 430 projects in the 55th Mercer Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held in the Bart Luedeke Center Cavalla Room, March 10-15, 2007.

The Mercer Science and Engineering Club has sponsored the Science Fair for county students since its inception. Rider University has been the host site for the last 16 years.

The fair is divided into three divisions – elementary (grades 4 and 5), junior (grades 6 to 8) and senior (grades 9 to 12). Elementary students compete in one general category. Junior-level students compete in physical and biological categories, while senior-level students enter projects in 13 categories.

Judging will take place on Monday, March 12 in the Cavalla Room. More than 60 judges from area companies, agencies, schools and the military will evaluate the projects. Students in the senior division must be present so judges can interview them about their research.

The awards ceremony, which annually attracts more than 1,200 people, will be held on Tuesday, March 13, at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gymnasium. About 175 prizes and awards will be presented by various companies and organizations that evening. This year the top two prize winners in the senior division will win all-expense trips to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Albuquerque, NM, May 13-19, 2007. In previous years, only the grand prize winner attended the international fair.

Each year the Intel ISEF brings together about 1,500 students from more than 40 nations to compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and other awards.

In addition to being affiliated with the Intel ISEF, the Mercer Science Fair is also associated with the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. The top 25 winners in the elementary and junior divisions become eligible to enter their projects in this nationwide competition. From more than 6,000 of the best projects from science fairs across the country, 40 are selected as finalists. The finalists earn the right to go Washington, D.C. to compete for a week. Two years ago, one of the participants in the Mercer Science Fair was a winner in the Young Scientist Challenge.

This year 14 generous sponsors have given the Mercer Science and Engineering Club the means to send the two senior division grand prize winners to the Intel ISEF and to continue to offer the opportunity for younger students to compete in the Young Scientist Challenge.

In addition to Rider University as the lead sponsor, the other supporters are: Voicenet, Southwest Airlines, Educational Testing Service, The Peddie School Summer Science Institute, Digi/Rabbit Semiconductor, Siemens, National Starch and Chemical, MIRTHE, Airtrax, Macraigor Systems, Roebling Construction Company, Parson Brinckerhoff, and Parallax.

The public may view the projects in the Cavalla Room immediately following the awards ceremony. Projects will also be on display from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 14, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 15.

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