Welcome to the Ventura County Science Fair!

In 1954, two Ventura County students entered projects in the California State Fair in Los Angeles, which had started two years earlier. Since there was no Ventura County Science Fair at the time, Frank Aldon Nowak, a Santa Paula High School senior, was forced to enter his project, "Amateur Astronomy," directly to the state competition. Likewise for Oxnard High School sophomore Lloyd Raymond Taylor, whose project was titled, "Progress in Radio and Communications."

The following year, 1955, the Ventura County Science Fair was established, and by 1957, the VCSF was sending eight young budding scientists, mostly from Ventura and Oxnard, to the state contest. Project titles from that year included, "Crystal Structure," "Human Blood," "Our Mineral Oil Friend," and "How Would You Describe This Leaf?"

With categories from Animal Behavioral and Social Sciences to Zoology, the science fair is designed to promote, encourage, showcase and reward the achievements of our students in the various fields of science. By developing skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, students are laying the groundwork for their future success.

Over 30 of our top students are invited to the State Science Fair to compete with their peers from across California where many of our past students have secured 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in many of the categories.