2.2.1. Profile of student exhibitors

At first, the Fairs were destined towards students in the antiquated “ginasial” (junior high) and “colegial” (high school) grade levels. From 1962 onwards, the Fair also accepted elementary school projects (FEIRA…, 1962, p.10). As such, the profile of the students shifted: in the first editions, most of the students described were 15-17 year old males. In 1968, however, an article mentions that “the average age of the students is 14” (BOAS…, 1968, p.7).

In the first editions, public school students predominated the newspapers’ student descriptions. Over time, private schools began to be highlighted. The newspapers began emphasizing the names of the schools that students attended. The authors encountered some publicity pieces published in 1970 in São Paulo high schools announcing the names of prize-winning students and the implementation of internal science fairs as indicators of the high quality of education that they provided. This shift follows the broader increase in prevalence of private schools in Brazil during the 1970s.

Students from the capital and the state of São Paulo exhibited at the fair from its first edition onward. As science fairs expanded across the state, the Fair began to divide registries into two categories: students from the capital could register directly at the Fair, and students from around the state that had won their respective local fairs the previous year were automatically classified for the São Paulo city Fair. ^{Reis elaborates in this 1970} article:

The science fair movement won over the entire state of São Paulo and also spread to other states and various countries around South America that were inspired by IBECC’s work. Little by little the Fair organized by this Institution came to be the crown jewel of the many fairs held around the state (^{REIS, 1970}, p.1).

The inequality between students from the capital and the rest of the state is mentioned in some texts. Students not from the city of São Paulo are generally presented as “hard working” with more “simple” and “modest” projects. This disparity, however, did not impede prizes from being awarded to students from the countryside. Their presence at the fairs, even with their “diminutive resources and means for study and research”, was considered a demonstration of the “extraordinary spirit of sacrifice and abnegation that animates them” (ESTÍMULO…, 1967, p.12). A 1969 article narrates the conquest of first prize at the Fair by a team of students from Sorocaba (SP), denoting this polarization:

Appearing with their materials held under their arms, the Sorocaba students almost gave up on participating in the Fair when they saw the arrival of trucks or even tractor trailers bringing in modern and complex equipment for super-stands. Despite this, they set themselves up with their crickets, toads and spiders [...], which filled their stand with webbing and won them first prize (ARANHA…, 1969, p.26).

As time went on, the Fair also began accepting applications from students from other states, especially from Rio de Janeiro. The five editions from 1970 to 1974 even received students from Argentina, which had also been consolidating its own science fairs. In 1974, the attendance of Peruvian students was noted (COMEÇA…, 1974, p.14). The presence of these students from other states and countries was depicted by newspapers as a marker of development and prestige of the São Paulo Fair in relation to the rest of Brazil and Latin America, as well as evidence of the advancement of the science fair movement that had begun in São Paulo with the Fair. One 1969 article denoted that in its 9 years of existence, “the fair demonstrated such good results that, this time, professors from Argentina, Venezuela, and Bolívia have come to witness it for themselves in order to model their own efforts after it” (E, NESTA…, 1969, p.14). In 1971, it was written that:

Having begun just over ten years ago in Brazil, more precisely in São Paulo, the Science Fairs were slowly but surely gaining popularity, polarizing interests and crystalizing ideas until they encompassed the Brazilian education system as a whole. Today, fairs are held around the State of São Paulo and in many other Brazilian cities. For some time now, educational institutions in neighboring countries, under the direct influence of IBECC’s work, have joined the movement to renew scholastic methods and practices in the teaching of the sciences (GRANDE…, 1971, p.152).

As stated in the documents, the Fairs were attended by hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors, which was presented as an indicator of the initiative’s success. The majority of visitors were young students. Other visitors are described as “the common man”, the “teachers”, and the “parents” of students. The enthusiastic and upbeat spirit of the students and the fair environment is markedly evident in these descriptions. According to the texts, each edition was carefully organized and well decorated with vibrant colors. Signs and placards advertising the projects on display were spread through the corridors. Moreover, the students, many of which wore lab coats or white aprons, distributed pamphlets inviting visitors to their stands.

2.2.2. Exhibited projects

Articles covering the Fair during the fair days themselves and those that announced the prize winners of each edition typically presented a few of the exhibits that had been prepared during the school year for the occasion. Some were described with the clear intention of promoting the event, piquing the reader’s interest in order to draw visitors to the Fair. Those that described the prize winning projects were presented with the intention of celebrating the potential of those young scientists.

Projects were explained in their minutiae, with journalists describing the research process, potential applications, modes of demonstrations, and expository materials: signs, panels, illustrations, and mockups. The majority of the projects presented at the Fairs were group projects. Individual projects, though a minority, were also highlighted in newspaper coverage. Among those highlighted were collections of minerals, animals, and plants, demonstrations of scientific principles and presentations of the history of scientific concepts and disciplines. Projects related to themes in the health sciences were frequently highlighted. One article in 1974 noted the existence of “a preventative and educational mentality in the areas of hygiene and health, showing films and graphics on diseases” at the fourteenth Fair (TERMINA…, 1974, p.22).

Another strain of projects focused on by newspapers over the years were those involving experiments with animals. Dissection and vivisection were frequent entries in these categories⁴⁵.

The “apparatuses” that students constructed - batteries, miniature steam-powered machines, miniature electric automobiles, etc - also garnered the newspapers’ attention. Among these “apparatuses”, robots constructed by the students truly stood out. The 1973 Fair, for example, was to have a “full sized robot” (IBECC-UNESCO, 1973, p.16) as a “main attraction” (UM ROBÔ…, 1973, p.11). The words “advanced” and “automatic” were frequently used in the descriptions of these robots and apparatuses in a positive light.

Projects researching outer space at the end of the 1960s and inspired by the arrival of man on the moon in 1969 were also markedly present at Fair editions. Rockets and replicas of National Space Agency (NASA) projects were commonly seen during this period. At the 1968 Fair, a miniature of a “NASA project, from rocket launches to electromagnetic propulsion” was specifically mentioned (VEJA…, 1968, p.8). The 1970 Fair went further, with “a rocket, with a rat on board” that “was launched 300 meters, once every half hour [...] in Ibirapuera park” (FOGUETE…, 1970, p.14).

At the end of 1972, the Folha de São Paulo published that the winner of the previous year’s Science Fair, with a project on the “origin, form, measure, and weight of rain drops”, was invited by NASA to tour their facilities and watch the launch of the Apollo-17 rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, USA (NASA…, 1972, p.25). The trip, which included a visit to other scientific and technological institutions around the country as well as Disney theme parks, was paid for by the aeronautic technology company Fairchild Industries. Prior to the journey, the winning student was invited to a meeting with the governor of São Paulo, Laudo Natel (1920-2020) (LAUDO…, 1972, p.11), and, upon her return, attended an event with the Secretary of State of the United States, William Rogers (1913-2001), and the President of Brazil, Emílio Médici (1905-1985), to whom she delivered a “moon rock” brought back from the trip (MÉDICI…, 1973, p.3).

Projects most commonly fell under the categories of either physics or biology, though mathematics and chemistry were also prevalent. Projects in other scientific disciplines, such as astronomy, zoology, geology, etc appeared over time. The majority of projects in the 1960s tended to frame science in a positive light, demonstrating its potential. The risks of science appear more rarely, in the form of explosion risk. Innovation and the applicability of scientific experiments can be categorized as expectations for the students’ presented work.

The 1970s presented two subtle shifts in the profile of projects highlighted by the press. On one hand, it was emphasized that projects presented at fairs should be “streamlined for potential industrial applications” (IBECC-UNESCO…, 1972, p.16). For the then representative of FUNBEC, Jaime Nazário, “projects piquing the interest of the business community may be further developed, after the completion of a study on economic viability, and produced on an industrial scale” (NA FEIRA, 1973, p.41). On the other, the concept of “social utility” also appeared in the 1970s (NA FEIRA…, 1973, p.41).

Similarly, projects more connected to the context in which they took place, such as those with an environmental focus, began to appear in this decade. At the tenth Fair in 1970, a journalist’s attention was arrested by a project on air and water pollution. According to the student who was interviewed, the project demonstrated that “one of the consequences of the technological progress of modern society is environmental pollution. Our sky is no longer so blue and our water no longer so clear” (FEIRA…, 1970c, p.6). For another journalist, this stand was considered “one of the favorites” (FOGUETE…, 1970, p.14). At the following year’s Fair, the newspaper A Tribuna noted that “most of the projects [...] address the problem of air, water, soil, and noise pollution” (ADULTOS…, 1971, p.5). In 1972, at the twelfth Fair, one of the event’s objectives was the “presentation of projects related to various aspects of community life” (COMEÇA…, 1972, p.14). At the same edition, projects employing the terms “reforestation” and “environmental education” were seen for the first time, presented by students from a Rio de Janeiro science club, supported and sent to the Fair by Jornal do Brasil. The project was named the “Patrulha da Natureza” (Nature Patrol) and the students, after taking courses on the subject, planted approximately 7500 trees (ELES…, 1972, p.20). This project was one of the most visited and received honorable mention at the Fair (COLÉGIO…, 1972, p.16). At the 1973 Fair, a project with explanatory posters on the consequences of air pollution in São Paulo was highlighted (COMEÇA…, 1973, p.15).

This media coverage and the emphasis on projects related to the discussion of the environment and the impact of science reflect some of the changes in science education during this period. Beginning in the 1970s, new science curricula were designed, especially in countries such as England, The United States, Canada, The Netherlands, and Australia, contemplating the impacts of science and technology on daily life, work, and the environment (^{NORBERTO ROCHA, 2018}). The same process can be observed in Brazil, as argued by ^{Krasilchik (2000}, p.89):

From 1960 to 1980, environmental crises, increases in pollution, the energy crisis, and the social efervescence manifested in movements such as the student revolt and the fights against racial segregation led to profound transformations in the types of proposals seen in scientific disciplines at all levels of study. The social implications of science were incorporated into these curriculum proposals at the junior high schools of the time and later in elementary schools.

It can also be observed how some articles drew attention to the capacity for “improvisation” and “creativity” in the use of “spare parts” and “old toys” that were “repurposed” for scientific experiments. One article on the 1972 Fair, for example, noted “improvisation and ingenuity in the use of simple materials from daily life in the construction [of an] apparatus” (COLÉGIO…, 1972, p.16). Two years prior, O Estado de São Paulo described the students’ improvisational capacity as an “effort of future scientists to continue despite adversity” (E, NESTA…, 1969, p.14).

2.2.3. The expansion of the fair to other subjects and the arts

The materials reviewed by the authors showed that the Fair was gradually opened to areas of study outside of the natural sciences, including to the arts. Works in the social sciences and humanities, particularly in psychology, can be identified from 1969 onward. In 1970, the tenth São Paulo Fair began accepting artistic projects “related to scientific themes”: “as such, children who have created paintings or sculptures related to science fiction or that depict some advancement in the sciences may register” (FEIRA…, 1970b, p.9). According to the Jornal do Brasil, “paintings alluding to man’s conquest of the moon” predominated (FOGUETE…, 1970, p.14).

In his Sunday column in the Folha de São Paulo, José Reis described the approximation of science and art promoted by the Science Fairs as an “important step” (^{REIS, 1970}, p.1). In his article titled “A arte comparecerá à Feira de Ciências” (Art will appear at the Science Fair), Reis wrote that the common ground between these two areas could “humanize science”, and would also be capable of “reforming or expanding the resources available to the arts in their experience and utilization of science” (REIS, 1970, p.1)

From 1972 onwards, the Fair included musical performances such as choirs, bands, and marching bands (ARTE…, 1972, p.21). The Fair’s 1972 objectives include stimulating “the cooperation between experts in different areas, even those not generally considered ‘sciences’” (COMEÇA…, 1972, p.14).

In the following year, “a Brazilian art and folklore section” (COMEÇA…, 1973, p.15) and “a section for a children-only art contest” with “drawings, collages and paintings” (ESTUDANTES…, 1973, p.25) were included in the Fair. The event came to be called the “Grand São Paulo Science and Culture Fair”, with the addition of the words “grand” and “culture” to the previous name. The 1974 fair even included a “parade of fanfare”, composed of 38 different educational institutions (A FEIRA…, 1974, p.14). The 1976 Fair went so far as to include theatrical performances by students and conferences with titles such as “theater in school” and “why include theater at school?” (PRODUÇÃO…, 1976, p.12).

Maria Julieta Ormastroni described this widening of the Fair’s scope: “at first, the fairs were focused only on science. We thought: ‘Why not introduce theater, music…?’ So we began to organize musical performances and plays. The project expanded enormously”⁶.

2.2.4. Prizes

The first fairs (1960-1964) awarded prizes to students who presented the best projects with the science experiment “kits” that IBECC produced (cf. ^{ABRANTES, 2008}), as well as honorable mentions and the publication of the names of winners, sometimes accompanied by photographs, in newspapers. Teachers were also awarded 5 thousand cruzeiros (equivalent to about 900 reais or 180 dollars).

In 1966, the year in which the Folha de São Paulo began sponsoring the Fair, the “Folha de São Paulo Trophy” was instituted, consisting of “statuettes representing a boy and girl with arms raised holding an effigy of a Brazilian scientist” (TROFÉUS…, 1966, p.17)

Beginning in 1969, newspapers began to announce trips as prizes for the best projects, such as a trip to Caxias do Sul (RS) for participation in the local science fair (ARANHA…, 1969, p.26). In 1970, another trip was offered, this one to the North of the country, as well as medals and trophies (PRORROGADAS…, 1970, p.9).

Newspaper coverage revealed the presence of a competitive spirit during the transition from the 1960s to the 1970s. In 1967, one newspaper announced that the objective of the Fair was to awaken “the spirit of competition” between students. In the 1970 Fair, an article on the closing ceremony -where prizes were distributed- stated that it “showed aspects of a true dispute, with delegations from high schools waving banners and cheering passionately for their colleagues” (FEIRA…, 1970e, p.10).

The question of competitiveness in education has been debated in academic literature on education, particularly in terms of activities such as olympiads and science fairs. ^{Rezende and Ostermann (2012}), for example, indicate the necessity of questioning competitiveness as a fundamental value in science education (a historically exclusionary field of knowledge). For these authors, the presence of competition in teaching is based on the idea that the contributions of talented individuals should form the foundation of the construction of scientific knowledge. The concept that these talents can be revealed through scientific competitions resonates in the political developmentalism present in the Brazilian government since the 1960s. Disregarding the pre-existing inequalities and the impacts that failures in these activities can have on students, Rezende and Ostermann argue, scientific competitions can reinforce the role of school as a reproducer of social inequalities.

Rezende and Ostermann also indicate that the construction of a relationship between knowledge, language, science, and real, day-to-day situations is questionable for this type of activity.

Upon analyzing the history of science fairs in the United States, ^{Terzian (2013}) identifies the presence of meritocratic thought that strengthened during the post World War II period and during the Cold War era. The author suggests that this approach accentuated educational inequality and, as a whole, contributed to the general problem of underrepresentation of minorities and women in scientific fields.

^{Mancuso and Leite Filho (2006}) apply such a lens to the specific case of Brazil, identifying competition-related conflicts during the history of the Fair that damaged its educational value, even causing some discomfort through the use of the name “science fair”, with proposals for substitution with terms such as “show” and even the opening of fairs to the arts.

An attempt to ameliorate the competitive nature of the São Paulo Fair can be found in press coverage during 1972, when the twelfth Fair announced the end of its prize system:

The Brazilian Institute of Education, Science, and Culture, the promoter of this contest, will no longer award prizes for best projects, as it has done in previous years, for, as professor Antônio Teixeira, one of the organizers, has stated, “the distribution of prizes has never sat well with all involved and does not advance the objectives of the Science Fair in any way” (SÃO…, 1972, p,10)

In the same year, the Fair announced that one of its objectives was the “development of the spirit of solidarity among students” (COMEÇA…, 1972, p.14). Instead of the old prize scheme, there would be only one prize: the projects that most stood out would be presented “during a program dedicated to Science Fairs”, on “Educational TV, Channel 2” (IBECC…, 1972, p.22)

In the following year, the 1973 Fair declared itself as having “the character of an exposition” and no longer that of a “competition” as it previously had (JOVENS…, 1973, p.16). However, some projects were still classified as the “best”. For these selected projects, “the prizes offered”, as the Folha de São Paulo announced, would be “books, exclusively, seeing as the event aims to, above all, awaken an interest in culture in general” (COMEÇA…, 1973, p.15).

Meanwhile, during the Fair, the awarding of “a trip to Belo Horizonte and Ouro Preto” as a prize to the six best projects was announced (ÚLTIMO…, 1973, p.18). In 1974, the organizers declared to the press that the Fair did not have:

Any prizes for the projects presented by students, however, [...] all will receive a certificate of participation and, among the six best teams, one will be randomly chosen to travel to Belo Horizonte, where the winners will participate in that city’s science fair as well (COMEÇA…, 1974, p.14).

Despite the reduction in prizes and such announcements from the organizers declaring that the fair would no longer be a competition, newspapers never stopped emphasizing the words “prizes”, “competition”, and “best” in their coverage.