San Diego's next generation of potential innovators got an up-close look at what's possible.
Nearly 60 companies who rely on science, technology, engineering and math were on display at the Del Mar Fair grounds yesterday. The 14th Annual Science Fair drew a diverse group of students from 42 schools. One organizer called it an "excitement fair" -- a way to get kids excited about learning.
It's also a way to get teachers like Sheila Krotz, who works at San Ysidro High School, excited about what she can do with all the stuff her students learn in class.
"Being able to do little mini labs that we don't have the resources at our school for is a really good opportunity, she said.
Twenty-five hundred students attended this year's fair; the largest gathering in the event's 14-year history and they came from all over San Diego.
County schools chief Randy Ward said it's important that kids see someone they can relate to doing this type of work. "We've got kids from the South Bay, the Mountain Empire and from the North County, all races, economic status, as well as exhibitors, who are also diverse.
And it's a chance for dozens of companies from SeaWorld to The San Diego Public Utilities Department to say 'this is how we use the things you're learning in school in San Diego.'
Rick Beach is president of the San Diego Science Alliance. He said the companies paid to bring the students to the science fair and volunteers worked eight months to put the event together.
"It gets kids excited, some kids get it right away, and then they tell other kids and it becomes infectious. This is the exhibitors helping the next generation get excited like they did," Beach said.
