Science fair projects hold bright promise

One day last week, 150 science projects packed the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, their nervous creators standing by many of them to explain their conclusions to tough judges.

The topics covered everything from behavioral science to zoology.

There were special awards for aerospace research, geosciences, meteorology and optics.

And when the time came for the young scientists to defend their research, they were up to the challenge, judges said. One long-time science teacher even said students came up with things teachers don't think about.

Events like these are important for schools, teachers, students and the community to support. The reason is simple: The teenager who won the award for the best medical experiment could very well become the adult who performs your surgery someday.

The quality of this year's experiments backs up such a prediction.