On April 8, 2024 people in Canada, Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, along with small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will experience a total solar eclipse. This impressive phenomenon occurs when the moon completely blocks the sun, darkening the sky for several minutes.
Science News, Science News Explores and Science News Learning have all developed materials aimed at educating the public on how to safely view the eclipse.

In 2023, Shanya Gill clinched the prestigious Thermo Fisher Scientific ASCEND (Aspiring Scientists Creating Exciting New Discoveries) Award at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (Thermo Fisher JIC). Her achievement not only garnered attention within the scientific community and by the media, but also captured the interest of the U.S. Fire Administrator. Just last week, 12-year-old Shanya Gill, hailing from San Jose, California, along with her father, Binny Gill, received a special invitation to visit the U.S. Fire Administrator’s office (USFA), where they met with distinguished figures like Lori Moore-Merrell and other senior leaders. During the visit, they engaged in discussions about fire suppression, Shanya’s innovative work on fire safety, and had the opportunity to tour the National Emergency Training Center campus and memorials.

The Regeneron Science Talent Search is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science research competition for high school seniors. Representing the most promising young scientists in the country, each working to address society’s most pressing challenges, the 300 scholars and 40 finalists were selected from 1,949 applications from 627 high schools across 48 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and four other countries.

Science Fair: The Series, which is available on Disney+ and Hulu, is a three-part documentary series that follows inspiring students from around the globe on their journey to compete at the largest convening of high school scientists in the world: the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, which is created and produced by Society for Science. While the students are truly extraordinary, it’s the mentors, teachers, parents, and fair directors who are the unsung heroes. These supportive adults play a pivotal role in supporting and guiding these young people.

January 2024: January is National Mentoring Month! To celebrate, we asked a few of our accomplished Regeneron Science Talent Search scholars and finalists to tell us about the mentors that helped guide them in their research and nurture their STEM interests. Keep reading to hear how these high schoolers found leaders in their fields who helped them take their projects to the next level.