00:00:00 My name is Henry Distin, and I'm president and director of the Delaware Valley Science

00:00:29 Fairs.

00:00:30 The main reason for getting you together is to talk about the International Science and

00:00:35 Engineering Fair.

00:00:36 But first, I'd like to introduce Dr. Fred Thompson of Roy F. Weston, Incorporated, who

00:00:41 is also chairman of our board of trustees.

00:00:45 Thank you, Henry.

00:00:46 On behalf of Roy F. Weston, Incorporated, the other seven companies that make up the

00:00:50 Delaware Valley Science Fairs trustees board, our 30 company and foundation sponsors, and

00:00:55 the Pennsylvania Advisory Board, I want to extend a special welcome to all of you today.

00:01:00 What you are about to see attempts to convey the visual images of what science fairs are

00:01:05 all about, the people who support them, and the people who make them work.

00:01:10 Over these 47 years, countless students have been exposed to the scientific methods in

00:01:15 a structured but flexible process that has continuously changed with our changing world.

00:01:21 For example, computer science, genetics, and environmental science were not even considerations

00:01:26 in 1949, but now they are at the forefront of popular science fair research projects.

00:01:32 Science fair projects are carefully mentored, monitored, and evaluated at schools and local

00:01:38 and regional fairs, and finally, the winning project entered the Super Bowl of Fairs, the

00:01:42 International Science and Engineering Fair, held every May at a city in the United States

00:01:48 or foreign country.

00:01:49 Having the opportunity to actually apply the things that we learn in the classroom to real

00:01:54 scientific research is one of the neatest things about doing science fairs.

00:01:57 You learn from what you're doing, you don't just read it and recycle it, you get out and

00:02:01 you experience it, you feel what you're creating, and you get to show people and it's neat to

00:02:06 have people interested in it.

00:02:07 This is what I like about it, my favorite part, the competition, all the late nights

00:02:12 working hard, it pays off right now.

00:02:16 An important thing to realize about a science fair project for a young student is that it

00:02:21 is a way of engaging the student in the methodology, the approach to science, that involvement,

00:02:30 that hands-on approach to science then can draw them into an understanding that this

00:02:35 is a career opportunity and indeed a way of helping them improve their relationship and

00:02:40 their understanding of the world around them.

00:02:43 Science fairs have been the beginning of the careers of many noted scientists, including

00:02:47 Nobel laureates.

00:02:49 As a junior high school student and indeed as a high school student, I had participated

00:02:53 in many science fairs, local fairs myself, I realized how important that opportunity

00:02:58 was to me.

00:02:59 Every student ought to have that opportunity.

00:03:01 Every student ought to be able to go on and measure himself and his work against the world

00:03:06 at large.

00:03:08 It's easy to know what made spring water better than tap water and I used three parameters,

00:03:12 calcium, magnesium, and lead, and I went on to the Carver Science Fair, got first place

00:03:17 there, came here to the Delaware Valley and got first place here, and then after the Delaware

00:03:22 Valley I went on to the NAACP AXO Fair, first place there too, so it really, you know, from

00:03:30 those accolades, my principal asked me to go to the Soviet Union, so I think I gained

00:03:35 motivation to, you know, persevere when things get hard, you know, I can say now that at

00:03:41 times I did, I was, well I was lazy, and now, you know, I think well I'm going to lose so

00:03:48 much if I don't go ahead and finish this or if I don't go ahead and start this.

00:03:52 After achieving something, you know, it's a small thing, a science fair, but it was

00:03:56 big to me because that was something I did.

00:04:05 In recent international comparisons of student achievement in 19 academic areas, American

00:04:11 students did not place first or second in any of them.

00:04:15 They placed last among industrial nations in seven of them.

00:04:19 Our high school students are at the middle to the bottom of the world in 19 academic

00:04:24 areas.

00:04:26 We must have a commitment from our leaders to make science more accessible to our youth.

00:04:31 Our experience indicates that science fairs in particular are an effective way to stimulate

00:04:38 and encourage youth to develop an interest in science.

00:04:42 It has been estimated by the National Science Foundation that there will be a shortage of

00:04:48 about 500,000 scientists and engineers by the year 2000, so if science fairs are going

00:05:00 to have an impact, we will need to expand the science fairs considerably, and for this

00:05:08 of course we will need a great deal of support throughout the country.

00:05:12 When I look at this fair with 750 youngsters, I'm also thinking about the thousands of other

00:05:18 young people who are not here, but who participated at one level or another in the local or the

00:05:23 regional.

00:05:28 And the reason we're a corporate sponsor is that we believe in the need for research

00:05:34 and investigative endeavors to further the, in our case, science of medicine.

00:05:41 Corporate sponsorships will yield a lot of benefit to the company.

00:05:45 They identify talent early on.

00:05:48 In terms of minorities and women, it identifies a segment that's going to be very important

00:05:53 within the next 10 or 20 years as more and more employees are brought in from this group.

00:06:05 I invented an electronics device for blind people, and it tells them whether the bill

00:06:09 they have in their hand is a $1 bill, $5 bill, and so on, up to $20.

00:06:14 This little thing will tell me whether I have a dollar bill or not?

00:06:18 Yep.

00:06:19 Now here's how it works.

00:06:20 Okay.

00:06:21 You take your wallet, you open it up, put the bill in, in any direction, using the guides

00:06:26 to help you.

00:06:28 So I can put it with either Washington up or Washington down?

00:06:31 Yep.

00:06:32 Mm-hmm.

00:06:33 Close it.

00:06:34 $1.

00:06:35 $1.

00:06:36 That's scraping.

00:06:37 And it talks.

00:06:38 How do I know?

00:06:39 It doesn't always say $1.

00:06:40 Hmm.

00:06:41 Let's see.

00:06:42 I mean, that's the obvious question.

00:06:45 Of course.

00:06:46 Oh, I see.

00:06:47 You put it upside down this time.

00:06:48 Mm-hmm.

00:06:49 $5.

00:06:50 That's how.

00:06:52 That's great.

00:06:53 Does it work with Canadian money or only American money?

00:06:55 It can be adapted to work for Canadian money because the principle is the same.

00:07:00 What is it?

00:07:01 What's it reading?

00:07:02 All right.

00:07:03 There are six points that are picked on the bill which are fixed, and the amount of light

00:07:08 that passes through each point is measured.

00:07:10 So for instance, on a $1 bill, this point would be dark, but on a $5 bill, the same

00:07:15 point would be light, and the combination of points is different for all the bills.

00:07:20 And so you do it for both front and back?

00:07:21 Mm-hmm.

00:07:22 Is that why you can put it in any direction?

00:07:23 Yes.

00:07:24 And also, well, the reason you can put it in any direction is because there are several

00:07:28 possibilities for, for instance, a $10 bill.

00:07:31 And as long as it uniquely identifies the bill, it works.

00:07:34 Where did you get the idea for this?

00:07:36 I had a little brother that was blind, and because of my feelings for him, I always wanted

00:07:40 to help blind people.

00:07:41 And he's since passed away.

00:07:42 When I got into the science research program in my high school, I decided to combine that

00:07:45 interest with my interest in electronics.

00:07:48 See, the thing is, I don't feel that science is just, you know, cold and technical and

00:07:51 everything.

00:07:52 I mean, I think it's also, you know, imaginative and compassionate and everything, and I just

00:07:56 really hope that many folks can help blind people.

00:08:04 I am particularly pleased to be a part of the overall effort to bring back the International

00:08:08 Science and Engineering Fair to Philadelphia in 1999.

00:08:12 We will be the host fair, a significant undertaking for our board.

00:08:16 It will be a challenge to make this happen.

00:08:18 We seek your support in making this event a defining statement for the region, and for

00:08:23 all the students around the globe who will participate.

00:08:26 We trust you will join us in this important endeavor.