Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1950 - 2018 (Creation)
Extent
0.84 linear feet
Name of creator
Administrative history
The David Frank Grether Central Minnesota Regional Science Fair was an annual event hosted by St. Cloud State University. Middle and high school students from an assortment of central Minnesotan schools presented demonstrations and papers pertaining to a scientific study of their choice. This event originated in 1951 (under the name of “The Science Congress”) and was sponsored by today’s Minnesota Academy of Science. The competition was originally envisioned as a program to help jump-start the professional careers of high school students with an interest in science, especially with the Cold War raging and the launch of the Sputnik satellite had firmly gripped public.
Over time, the program expanded in size and scope, incorporating projects from junior high school students in grades 6-8, in addition to offering prizes and scholarships for projects deemed exceptional by a panel of judges. The last event of this kind was held in 2019 and discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the fair’s former sponsor, the Minnesota Academy of Science, continues to host similar programs at the regional and statewide level to this day, such as the annual Minnesota State Science Fair held annually in St. Paul.
David Frank Grether was a former faculty member in the Department of Biology at St. Cloud State University. Throughout his time at the university, he served as one of the key organizers of the Central Minnesota Regional Science Fair, which was renamed in his honor to mark the event’s fiftieth anniversary.
Scope and content
These materials showcase more than 50 years of the history of the David Frank Grether Central Minnesota Regional Science Fair (previously known as the “Central Minnesota Regional Science Fair” until 2001).
This collection is organized in two series.
Series 1: Science Fair Materials
Dating from 1950 to 2019, this series contains a diverse assortment of materials pertaining to the fair. The most prominent materials are the programs for this event that date from 1950 to 2018. There are other materials that include flyers, ribbons, and certificates. Perhaps most notably, As an example of the type of project submitted and presented, contained here is the project and research paper of Michael Garrity, a high school student who took part in the program during the late 1950s.
Series 2: Science Fair Scrapbooks
The second series contains six scrapbooks, dating from 1950 to 1968, containing materials pertinent to the fair. These include event programs, newspaper clippings, photographs of student participants and their demonstrations, along with written descriptions of their projects.
Location is 28A.1b-c
System of arrangement
This collection is divided into two series: Central Minnesota Regional Science Fair Materials, and Central Minnesota Regional Science Fair Scrapbooks.
Series 1: Science Fair Materials
These records are arranged in alphabetical order and are additionally separated within folders into different subcategories of separate materials.
Series 2: Science Fair Scrapbooks
These records are arranged alphabetically and then chronologically.
Conditions governing access
There are no access restrictions.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Permission to publish, quote, and reproduce must be secured from the copyright holder.
Languages of the material
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
A15-005
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
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Related descriptions
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Alternative identifier(s)
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Sources used
Archivist's note
These records were processed by Nathan Schmidt from November to December 2023.