By Michael Unger, Manager of Community Engagement, Science Fair Foundation of BC

When it comes to sports programming in schools, it’s about more than just winning. It’s about what sports foster in young people: resilience, teamwork and the confidence to show up when it matters. We build entire systems to make sure students get access to that through the right coaching, fundraisers, professional development, and early releases to set them up for success.

However, the same mentality has not been applied to programming for STEM, like science fairs. Access to meaningful STEM and science fair experiences and support infrastructure for students and the teachers who support them is not equal across BC. That gap shows up in who gets recognized, who advances, and ultimately, who gets to see themselves as a future scientist or innovator. The regions with stronger programming, more connected educators, and better-resourced schools tend to produce more opportunities, engagement and winners.

Many young people who could become our next generation of problem-solvers never get the chance to discover this potential - not because they lack talent, but because the infrastructure around them wasn't built to support inquiry-based learning. If a question isn’t going to appear on a test, there's rarely time to chase it or invest time in learning. Curiosity becomes a liability rather than an asset.

That's where science fairs and mentorship become essential. Teachers are the most direct point of contact between a curious student and the experience of a science fair. When an educator feels equipped, connected, and supported, the outcomes for students change. But right now, many teachers, particularly those in rural, remote, or under-resourced communities, are navigating science fair programming largely on their own. There's no equivalent to the coaching infrastructure built around sports.

That's the gap we need to name and fill. Not by taking anything away from sports, but instead by taking the model and applying it. Sports programming teaches exactly the kind of resilience, collaboration, and mentorship that science fairs want to teach, and teachers supporting STEM deserves the same category of institutional commitment. A mentor, a process, a deadline, and a moment where a student has to show up and deliver: that's what a great coach provides, and it's exactly what a well-supported teacher can provide in a STEM context, too.

Mentorship is essential and requires support from both directions. We also need to be honest about what educators are being asked to carry, and what supports are currently missing: access to training, to networks of other science fair educators, to resources that don't assume you're already embedded in a well-equipped program.

Science fairs and STEM lean into inquiry-based learning, which is exactly what today’s world is calling for. We're living through a moment of real uncertainty, particularly around AI. Parents aren't sure what to tell their kids. Teachers are navigating tools they're still learning themselves. The answer isn't to wait for experts to hand down answers but to learn and stay curious together. To build a shared culture of honest questioning and discovery.

That spirit of going further together is what makes science fairs matter. Kids get to chase a question they actually care about. Nobody assigned it to them. And in working through it, they learn to collaborate, problem solve and push through difficulty. They find a path when there isn't a clear one. Those are the same skills sport builds. The difference is we've spent decades building the ecosystem around sport. We haven't done that yet for science, and the regions that have the least support are paying the price.
This is a call to change that. The path forward is concrete: treat science fair educators the way we treat coaches, invest in professional development and regional support structures, and build the community infrastructure like formal time-off pathways for teachers that let a curious kid anywhere in BC, not just in well-resourced districts, find their way from an idea to a stage.

The next generation is already asking the right questions and it’s up to us to help build the right infrastructure to support them in learning and answering them.