Get out your beakers and put on your thinking cap, it's time for the 2012 East Kootenay Regional Science Fair.

The annual science fair already has 67 registrants for the February 22 and 23 fair at the College of the Rockies gymnasium. The deadline to enter is February 15, and the fair is open to Kindergarten to Grade 12 students. The February 22 event will be a non-competitive fair for Kindergarten to Grade 6, and the February 23 fair will be competitive for Grade 6 to 12.

"It's the traditional kind of science fair," said Darcy Verbeurgt, co-chair of the East Kootenay Science Fair committee.

Grade 6 students will have the opportunity to choose the non-competitive fair, or enter their experiments in the competitive fair.

"Some of the 6s choose to be in the non-competitive fair," Verbeurgt said.

Students in Grade 7 and up will compete for a chance to represent the East Kootenay region at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, to be held in Prince Edward Island. The top four students will travel to the event. Awards and medals will be given out, and fun activities are planned for participants between exhibits.

In the non-competitive fair, Verbeurgt said they put an emphasis on celebrating science. The kids share their projects with others and the facilitators and start a discussion about science.

"They love that," Verbeurgt said. There are draw prizes and goodie bags for all involved, but the learning is the key outcome. "What they really get out of it is the sharing of the whole thing."

Verbeurgt said the science fair has roots that go back about 25 years in the East Kootenay. He says there were about two year in the 2000s when there was no fair because teachers were burnt out from the incredible amount of work it takes to put on the event. The East Kootenay Science Fair Society was formed, and partnerships were made with the College of the Rockies, and the fair lived once more. The EKSFS applied for society status two years ago.

Now students from all over the region submit projects, and the entrants swelled to over 400 last year.

Verbeurgt said the COTR partnership was crucial to the science fair's sustainability, and it has also helped them connect with the science community. The EKSFS also has partnerships with the Kootenay Regional Innovation Council, and sponsors include Teck, School District 5, the City of Cranbrook and the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists.

At the fair there will be many presenters and tables that will provide students with an opportunity to learn more about this year's theme of engineering and geoscience.

"It's not just a science fair - it's more than that," Verbeurgt said. "We have a variety of presenters."

The students will also get to take in interactive activities and friendly competitions. Because of the engineering theme, Verbeurgt said structures, design and moving a certain distance will be key components.

According to Verbeurgt, participating in a science fair helps develop a variety of life skills for students, such as planning and executing experiments, sharing, presentation and speaking, communicating and possibly most importantly - how to learn from mistakes.

"It really is a project that celebrates so many aspects of learning," he said.

The science fair can help introduce students to the world of science and how it fits into life.

"Science is everywhere, it explains everything in society," he said. "It can explain everything about life."

Sign up for the East Kootenay Regional Science Fair can be done online at www.ekrsf.ca, and will close on February 15. A detailed schedule and more information on how to produce a science fair project is available there. The cost of registering is $15 and each student will receive a T-shirt and have access to prizes. The fair will have public viewing times, and a schedule is available on the website.