The Intellectual Property Law Section of the D.C. Bar seeks volunteers to act as judges for the Benjamin Banneker Academic High School Science Fair. It is set for Thursday, February 26, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 1:00 p.m.

Banneker High School, located at 800 Euclid Street, NW, Washington, DC (202-673-7322), is a magnet school that attracts top local students with a particular interest in science and technology. Banneker proudly boasts that one hundred percent of its graduates are accepted into college.

All students participate by submitting a science project in one of a dozen categories: Behavioral & Social Sciences, Biochemistry, Botany, Chemistry, Earth & Space Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, Mathematics, Medicine & Health Sciences, Microbiology, Physics and Zoology.  Past winners of the Banneker High School Science Fair have gone on to win at local, regional and national level science fairs.

Volunteer judges don’t need a science degree or training.  Judges attend a half-day (morning) presentation of the science projects by the students. The Judges are divided into groups according to the various categories. Each group of Judges views the various science projects in an assigned category, asks questions of the responsible student(s) about each project, grades each project according to a list of prescribed criteria, and then collectively selects the winner(s) for each category.

The IP Law Section has been a proud sponsor of this annual event since 1996. Come join with dozens of legal colleagues, local teachers, engineers, and other community volunteers in an event certain to again provide rewarding and gratifying memories for students and judges alike.

To volunteer or obtain more information, please contact the Sections Office Outreach Coordinator, Twanda J. Washington, at twashington@dcbar.org or (202) 626-3463.