My first teaching job was middle school science, and science fairs were my absolute favorite. 

My students competed in local fairs and regularly advanced to the regional and state fair. 

Fun memory: defending my brilliant seventh grade student’s project to a panel of judges who wanted assurance that she actually designed her study. 

I assured them she did, and I’ll never forget the judges (medical doctors and scientists) encircling a tiny girl, asking her questions and amazed with her answers. 

Her seventh grade project? 

Designing a new birth control device. 

In this dystopian science world where research in mRNA therapies is canceled (absolutely a tragedy), the CDC is held hostage by a germ theory skeptic, and my Texas just made ivermectin an OTC drug, a science fair was held on Capitol Hill. 

But instead of bright-eyed middle schoolers, the fair featured poster displays of promising breakthroughs by actual researchers – studies abruptly cancelled by the current administration. 

In an office lobby, two dozen researchers spoke about the importance of their studies and the dangers threatening scientific research. 

But who needs controlled, peer-reviewed research? Bring on the horse meds.