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Beaverton Science Expos

BEF, Beaverton and Hillsboro School Districts partnered to put on a robust science expo program in 2025. BEF focused on empowering middle school students to see themselves as scientists who are capable of problem solving, discovery, and knowledge creation.
STEM community night
Bilingual Project Board at the 2025 Science Fair
Five Oaks Middle School Science Fair supported by Beaverton Education Foundation

At A Glance:

BEF Investment: $20,000

427

Participants in the 2025 Beaverton Science Expos

4,000

Middle School students participated in school science fairs

BEF helped boost participation in competitive science fairs in 2025 and focused on building a pipeline of emerging young scientists at the middle school level.

In a partnership among BEF and the Beaverton and Hillsboro School Districts, the High School Science Expo was held on March 6, 2025, with 115 projects presented by 132 students. Of these, eight projects went on to compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair, and Beaverton students ultimately won several prizes and special awards, including 2nd place in Math, 3rd place in Biomedical Engineering, and 3rd place in Robotics and Intelligent Machines.

To build a pipeline of young scientists, BEF helped establish school-wide STEM fairs at additional middle schools across Beaverton with a push for broader participation by all students. From these, 236 projects by 295 students were presented at the Middle School Science Expo on March 13th and many of these emerging scientists went on to compete at the Northwest Science Expo, the state-level competition event.

 

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A favorite moment was hearing a student say to their teacher, 'can you believe it? I won third place in Chemistry in the whole state! Me! I did that in...8th grade!' This is exactly the outcome we are hoping for: creating opportunities for students to see their own amazing potential

Beaverton Science Fair Coordinator

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We had our first 8th grade STEM expo this year and had great family engagement. All students completed a STEM project, and about 70% showed up to the fair with their families. With a taco truck and shaved ice, everyone enjoyed our community night

Tumwater MS teacher

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Our fair was packed with families exploring the projects. Younger students were given 'passports' to take notes on the various projects, this was also a huge hit.

Mountain View MS teacher

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I loved talking with students about their posters and I could see how proud they were of their discoveries.

Parent

Middle School Extended Day Programs

Now in its 15th year, the Safe and Sound for Student Success (S4) program offered by BEF continued its vital work in the 2024-25 school year. Eight middle schools participated, serving 1,184 middle school students with an extended school day with access to extracurricular coupled with academic accountability.

Independent Living Skills for Community Transition Program Students

BEF is proud to support the Community Transition Program with a $10,000 investment for groceries and equipment needed to help students build independent living skills in the kitchen.
Sweatshirt with Chess Club logo

Early Risers Chess Club

Early means early! Fir Grove Chess Club members, all 3rd through 5th graders, show up at 6:55 am to play. Not only do they learn the game and have fun with classmates, but they also learn skills that help them become better and more confident students.
Feed My Body, Feed My Brain winter break campaign to support students

Feed My Body, Feed My Brain winter break campaign

270 individuals, local business and community leaders came together to make a difference in the lives of our students and families and helped us deliver the requested number of winter break food gift cards to all 54 of the Beaverton schools.

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