Abby Lewis is a Ph.D. candidate at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on understanding the role of lakes in the global carbon cycle and forecasting how ecological processes will change in the near future. For this Sharing Science project, she is working closely with a team of eight other graduate students at Virginia Tech, including Amanda Hensley, Carla López Lloreda, Claudia Perez, Emma Buren, Gates Palissery, Grace O’Malley, Heather Wander, and Sophie Drew

Project Description: The Kids Judge! Science Fair puts power in the hands of elementary school children, inviting them to evaluate graduate students’ science fair posters. While evaluating the posters, children will learn about leading-edge research and have the opportunity to interact with scientists in a small-group setting. Graduate students, in turn, get to practice and receive feedback on their science communication skills from the toughest audience—children.