Washington Elementary's exhibit at Science Festival Expo Day is unmentionable

Who knew owl "poop" could teach kids about science!

Students from Washington Elementary used the scientific method to help San Diego Festival for Science and Engineering EXPO guests understand the diet, habitat and ecosystem of barn owls. Kids and parents will have the opportunity to dissect and analyze owl pellets. They also compared and contrasted the skeleton of the barn owl to those of rodents, shrews, moles and other birds, expanding their learning at a higher level.

The Washington experiment was one of the the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering winners of the Bright Ideas Society award. Sponsored by the Kimmich Educational Foundation at the San Diego Foundation, the award was presented to one outstanding science and engineering club at the elementary, middle and high school level for their illuminating science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) ideas. Under the direction of their advisor, the students produced an interactive exhibit to share their findings with more than 25,000 EXPO DAY attendees from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at PETCO Park in downtown San Diego.

"We are fortunate to have a number of K-12 schools in San Diego County involved in STEM education, which means a brighter future for all of us," says Sara Pagano, managing director, San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering. "The selection of the winners was a very competitive process. Applications were initially reviewed by our education committee and then the top entries were sent to the Kimmich Educational Foundation whose members further reviewed the applications and selected the top three." ​

A program of the Biocom Institute, the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering presented by Illumina, aims to encourage and get kids excited about science and related fields so they might one day aspire to be tomorrow's STEM innovators. More than 55,000 kids, parents, scientists, educators and community members are expected to participate in the week-long event and EXPO Day. Several features and events are scheduled, designed to shine the light on how STEM makes an impact in our everyday lives.