Throughout the past 10 years, Dr. Brian Wargo has showcased the annual science conference, which had previously taken place at the high school. Though it has been a standard requirement for all of his Physics classes, he would invite the sixth graders to curate a similar project as the high schoolers. Additionally, he would invite alumni to share where their careers currently stand in the fields of science.

Though the standards have stayed the same for this year’s annual science conference, there were some new changes that occurred. This year, the science conference was held at Penn State Beaver on May 7, and for the first time, students from other schools were invited to present their long-term projects.

The Idealized Science Institute was formally incorporated in 2022, but it was not until 2023 that it really started to take off, when Wargo began releasing his quick quiz videos on the internet. In 2025, the institute began to lead seminars for teachers around the area, which provided them with knowledge on how to really teach science in the classrooms. Both Wargo and Dr. Jacob Beckey led these seminars, and in 2025, they stipended about $10,000 to 25 teachers across 18 school districts. Each teacher received $250 for just coming and participating in the seminar. They also receive their ACT-48 credits during these seminars, which is required for all teachers.

“It has been a lot of donations [for the science conference] initially. My hope is to still have that be there because I want it to be a community-driven thing, but we’re currently building out the fundraising efforts to apply for grants and to apply for various local initiatives where the state will give you money back if companies donate,” Beckey said.

Wargo and Beckey have also been working globally to help teachers around the world in teaching science. They were elected to do a pre-conference workshop for all attendees at a global conference called the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. After the fact, they had a school district located in Africa come up to them and explain their struggles. The Idealized Science Institute decided to put together Electricity and Magnetism kits for schools in countries that may not always have available electricity.

Throughout the conference, 15 total scholarships were given out to students who presented, three of which were awarded to senior presenters, with one grand prize for $2,000 and two runner-up awards for $1,250. Colton Blank (12) and Dominic Severin (12) won both the runner-up awards.

There were also three junior awards, a grand prize of $2,000 and two runner-up awards for $1,250. Anna Majors (11) received the grand prize and Ashlynn Wagner (11) received the runner-up award. There were three for first-time presenting schools, for $1,000 each. There were six $500 awards given out for middle school students. Shell Polymers, The Wright Promise, Remake Learning, Deep Well Services and Pond Lehockey sponsored the 2026 conference.

The institute also gave away $5,000 grants for teachers interested in participating in long-terms in the next few years. Teachers will be able to use this grant in the classroom to advance their science program.

“The way that we’re teaching science, and a lot of time mathematics, is just not working,” Wargo said. “We need to make [science in the classroom] really come alive. These long-term projects literally force you to actually do science…the Idealized Science institute is about helping teachers who may not have the vision to see a little bit further.”

Students from Freedom and other participating schools were able to open the conference with their long-term projects. Wargo was able to determine who received the honor through the time, determination and preparation put into the long-term. Montour, North Hills and South Side participated in this year’s conference, bringing in over 200 students total.

“It was an honor to be an opening presenter and represent Freedom,” Majors said. “When I found out I won the grand prize, I was shocked to be recognized in that way. These scholarships are amazing opportunities for students to save for their future education.”