The computer science fair: an alternative to the computer programming contest

Dissatisfaction with the results of programming contest events has led to the development of a new type of competitive event, a computer science fair. The computer science fair, a combination art show/science fair, is designed to attract a wider diversity of participants, to encourage creativity, and to reinforce good project development practices. Students are asked to creatively use technology to express themselves, to design new inventions, and to solve problems by submitting projects in the following categories: 1) computers and the arts and humanities --- computer music, computer art, multimedia projects; 2) computer programs --- entertainment, education, scientific, business, modeling and simulation; and 3) computer or electronically controlled inventions. This paper outlines the rules for submissions and judging of projects and the results of the First Annual Kansas City Computer Science Fair. Results based on gender and age category are reported.