Huntington Foundation Supports HHS Science Research
As Huntington High School's science research program continues to scale new heights, the Huntington Foundation is offering its support of an initiative to sharpen the competitive presentations of students.
Huntington science teacher Lori Kenny leads the research program, which has become so popular that another section taught by Craig McKee was opened this year. Nearly 60 students are challenging themselves by conducting research in an array of science-related areas.
Mrs. Kenny received a mini-grant of $840 from the Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education to fund the purchase of six sets of professional quality poster boards.
"These poster boards lend the proper credentials to a high level project and give the students a sense of pride in their work," Mrs. Kenny said. "The boards stimulate interest in the science research program and allow students to not only reach a new level themselves, but also to inspire other students to further their research at the same time."
Science research program students spend the first half of the year feverishly working to complete extensive projects in a condensed time span in order to participate in high-level competitions beginning in mid-winter.
"At the competitions, the students present their research to judges on tri-fold boards," Mrs. Kenny said. "At the higher level competitions, it is not uncommon to see hundreds of poster boards professionally printed and mounted. Currently, it has become a disadvantage for students to make their own poster boards from cardboard tri-folds and printed PowerPoint slides. Not only does it limit the amount of information a student can put on their poster board, but it also severely hinders the organization of material on the board and gives it an overall unprofessional look."
Mrs. Kenny told Huntington Foundation officials that "when judges see professionally printed posters, they immediately give that project greater consideration and tend to give the student a higher score. With some students currently participating in high level competitions, it is imperative for them to present a printed board in order to compete fairly with other students who have done similar research."
Thanks to the generosity of the Huntington Foundation, Huntington science research students are gaining equal footing with their counterparts from Long Island's top high school programs.
"By printing poster boards for the students, they are more likely to put more effort into their board and the content on it," Mrs. Kenny said. "The boards provide an incentive to produce a quality presentation and gives them confidence at competitions. The students will also be more likely to practice their presentations more and become more passionate about their research."