WABASSO ISLAND , Fla. More than 10,000 Indian River County students compete in school science fairs and 550 advance to finals at the Indian River Regional Science and Engineering Fair where a total of $340,000 will be distributed in academic and scholarship awards.

The Environmental Learning Center (ELC) and Education Foundation of Indian River County have teamed up to offer two science seminars for aspiring junior scientists and those wishing to polish their science fair skills.

"Observation Station" will be held for 6 th to 8 th graders, as well as their parents and teachers, at the Gifford Middle School on Saturday, September 13, with registration at 8:30 am and the seminar from 9 until 11:10 am. Each participant will pick three 30-minute "how to" sessions from 13 science fair presentations by local research scientists, educators, doctors and science professionals. Reservations are not required.

"Exploration Station" will be held on Saturday, September 20, at the Gifford Middle School and will be repeated on Saturday, September 27 at the Sebastian River Middle School. These seminars are designed to teach 4 th and 5 th graders and their parents how to apply scientific methods in designing winning science fair projects. Space is limited to 100 students at each session, and reservations can be made through the participating school science coordinator beginning Monday, August 25. For further information, contact the Education Foundation at 772-564-0034 or info@edfoundation.org; at the ELC call 772-589-5050 or contact Sarah@DiscoverELC.org.

The Environmental Learning Center is located north of Vero Beach off County Road 510 at the western edge of the Wabasso Bridge. Its 64-acre island campus includes exhibit areas, native plant gardens, picnic facilities, gift shop and visitor center. A list of its many field excursions including hikes, boat excursions, nature walks and bird watching can be found at www.DiscoverELC.org