Some 650 Rio Rancho High School and Rio Rancho Mid-High School students are expected to present projects at this year’s Rio Rancho Public Schools Fall Senior Student Research EXPO.

The event, promoted by the SciMatics Academy at RRHS, will be Thursday, Dec. 6, in the Rio Rancho High School Gymnasium, 301 Loma Colorado NE.  It is open to high school students in a public, private or home school setting in the surrounding community schools

The public is invited to visit from noon until 1:45 Pp.m.  Admission is free, but donations are welcomed.


The EXPO is still seeking judges and volunteers, as more than 200 people are rerquired to run this event. Anyone  interested in volunteering or judging should contact Daniel Barbour at 896-5644 or barbour@rrhs.rrps.k12.nm.us.   

The Senior Research EXPO provides a vehicle for students to explore their interests and make contacts in career fields they may be considering. Based on New Mexico State Math and Science Standards, student are taught how to ask questions, design experiments, collect data, analyze data, make conclusions based on data, then report their findings in a public forum.  This is an authentic assessment where students must apply concepts from their educational training.

Students may submit a project in their choice of categories: Behavioral and Social Sciences, Biology/Botany/Zoology, Chemistry/Biochemistry, Environmental Science/Earth and Space, Physics, Engineering, Medicine and Health/Microbiology/Gerontolog or Mathematics/Computer Science/Robotics.

The top student projects qualify for a share of up to $10,000 in prize money, funded in part by the Intel Foundation. There are numerous special awards sponsored by the public in different areas of interest.

The top 120 projects will be selected for exhibition at the Central New Mexico Science and Engineering Research Challenge in Albuquerque in March.  

Students presenting the top projects at the state and regional level qualify for international competition at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF).  Rio Rancho High School has qualified students for Intel ISEF each of the last five years.  

Last year a record four students from Rio Rancho exhibited at Intel ISEF, and two of the students claimed a third and fouth place in their respective categories while competing against some of the world’s top young scientists.