Science Fair
March 14, 2017
5:30-6:45 pm
STUDENTS MAY WORK WITH ANOTHER STUDENT BUT NO MORE THAN TWO STUDENTS PER PROJECT!
IMPORTANT DATES:
January 30 -February 2—Decide on your topic for the Science Fair.
February 6—Think about the problem you want to investigate. Think about the question you want to ask.
February 13—State your hypothesis.
***Be prepared to tell Mrs. Henry your ideas on these dates!
February 17--Materials list due to your teacher. (You will type this on your iPad first.)
February 20-March 6 —Plan and conduct your experiment (Experiments may takes extensive time). You may need to conduct your experiment more than once.
March 3—Final day to order a display board from Mrs. Henry (or you may purchase your own board). Cost will be $3.
March 6 to March 13—Plan and complete all paperwork. Construct your display board. REMEMBER NEATNESS COUNTS!
Tuesday, March 14—All projects set up by 12:00 noon. Displays open by 5:45 pm.
A successful science project:
A science fair project is NOT:
FIGURE OUT YOUR PROJECT:
One of the biggest challenges you will face is choosing a good project idea. Some points to consider are:
After studying your selected topic, begin asking questions that you can answer with scientific experimentation. Keep focusing in on a smaller subtopic until you have a specific question. Your question needs to be very specific. It should indicate the subject to be studied and the variables that will produce the data.
SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT HYPOTHESIS:
The question you choose to answer will become your Science Fair Project Hypothesis. To state the hypothesis, change the question into a statement and include what you expect to happen as a result of your experiment or project.
Testing your hypothesis is at the heart of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD. Accepting or rejecting your hypothesis is the core of your Science Fair Project. How you organize your work should revolve around the way you wrote the hypothesis
MAKE A PLAN FOR YOUR PROJECT;
This means if you are doing an experiment, you need to plan and conduct your experiment. If you are doing a demonstration, you need to plan and practice your demonstration.
Some basic elements your plan should cover are:
Add enough time for writing your report and preparing your display. Save a weekend before the Science Fair to handle last minute needs of your report and display
DO YOUR PROJECT:
The next step is to follow the plan you have written. Keep a journal or lab notebook to record your data and observations. Try to write detailed notes on everything you observe. You may want to take pictures, videos or make sketches of your observations. These notes are important to your project because they are needed when you write your report and make your display.
Keep in mind that if your project does not work out as expected, you should still use it. Many scientific experiments do not produce the expected outcome, but still can be successful. Tell what you have learned from the results. Explain where the results differ from what you expected. Examine what you learned and keep notes on what you might do differently to improve results. Remember, your science project still produced useful information.
ANALYZE YOUR PROJECT;
Once you are finished with the experiment, organize your data and notes. You may want to put your data into a spreadsheet and your notes into word processing. Then study the results.
Ask yourself what happened. Do the results agree with your hypothesis? How can you analyze the data to help others understand your project? Make charts and graphs to represent the data to help you analyze it.
Next, draw conclusions from your work. Your conclusion is a summary of the results and discussion of how the results relate to the hypothesis. Does your conclusion answer your original question?
WRITE YOUR REPORT:
Write a report detailing your science project. Include what you did, how you did the project, and what you discovered. Be sure to write about your plan and your experiment. Include your data, and perhaps some of your charts and graphs that help interpret your data. Use the background information and research to complete your project.
As you write your report, make sure it is legible and has correct spelling and grammar. Make it interesting by writing it in your own words. Your report may be one page long.
MAKE YOUR DISPLAY:
The display is crucial to your success at the Science Fair. Your display must be neat and organized, but also needs to tell the story of your project in a concise manner. It should include:
PRACTICE YOUR PRESENTATION:
When you make your presentation to the judges and others, it is important that you are prepared. Know what you are going to say before you have to say it. By rehearsing your presentation, you become confident talking about your project. Start practicing by yourself, then find some adults to present to as judges.
Practicing will make you calmer and more composed on science fair day. If you are prepared and know what you are going to say, you will do your best and make yourself proud.
DON’T WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE:
Plan ahead. Allow enough time to do your science project and you will have fun learning about one of your interests.
March 14, 2017
5:30-6:45 pm
STUDENTS MAY WORK WITH ANOTHER STUDENT BUT NO MORE THAN TWO STUDENTS PER PROJECT!
IMPORTANT DATES:
January 30 -February 2—Decide on your topic for the Science Fair.
February 6—Think about the problem you want to investigate. Think about the question you want to ask.
February 13—State your hypothesis.
***Be prepared to tell Mrs. Henry your ideas on these dates!
February 17--Materials list due to your teacher. (You will type this on your iPad first.)
February 20-March 6 —Plan and conduct your experiment (Experiments may takes extensive time). You may need to conduct your experiment more than once.
March 3—Final day to order a display board from Mrs. Henry (or you may purchase your own board). Cost will be $3.
March 6 to March 13—Plan and complete all paperwork. Construct your display board. REMEMBER NEATNESS COUNTS!
Tuesday, March 14—All projects set up by 12:00 noon. Displays open by 5:45 pm.
A successful science project:
- Represents your work -- not the work of an expert or your parent.
- Indicates an understanding of the science area chosen.
- Shows careful planning that would eliminate a "rush" project.
- Has a simple, well-stated title and neat lettering.
- Includes pictures, charts, graphs, etc. that might be necessary to explain your work.
- Has accurate, valid, and complete observations.
- Tells a complete story -- problem and solution.
- Is original in approach and presentation. Don’t copy the work of someone else.
- Is self-explanatory.
- Is attractive and organized.
- Does not have to cost much money.
- Is one that gives credit to research used in your project.
A science fair project is NOT:
- Only a report.
- Necessarily a new discovery or an original piece of research.
- Constructing a plastic model from a hobby kit.
- An enlarged model or drawing.
- A weekend chore.
- One, two, or even three posters.
- Something done by your parents or teachers.
FIGURE OUT YOUR PROJECT:
One of the biggest challenges you will face is choosing a good project idea. Some points to consider are:
- choose a topic that interests you
- choose a topic that you can understand
- choose a topic that is not too complicated
After studying your selected topic, begin asking questions that you can answer with scientific experimentation. Keep focusing in on a smaller subtopic until you have a specific question. Your question needs to be very specific. It should indicate the subject to be studied and the variables that will produce the data.
SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT HYPOTHESIS:
The question you choose to answer will become your Science Fair Project Hypothesis. To state the hypothesis, change the question into a statement and include what you expect to happen as a result of your experiment or project.
Testing your hypothesis is at the heart of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD. Accepting or rejecting your hypothesis is the core of your Science Fair Project. How you organize your work should revolve around the way you wrote the hypothesis
MAKE A PLAN FOR YOUR PROJECT;
This means if you are doing an experiment, you need to plan and conduct your experiment. If you are doing a demonstration, you need to plan and practice your demonstration.
Some basic elements your plan should cover are:
- State your question and hypothesis.
- The purpose of your experiment.
- The variables you will change and measure.
- Detailed procedures outlining what materials are needed.
- How you will conduct the experiment or study.
Add enough time for writing your report and preparing your display. Save a weekend before the Science Fair to handle last minute needs of your report and display
DO YOUR PROJECT:
The next step is to follow the plan you have written. Keep a journal or lab notebook to record your data and observations. Try to write detailed notes on everything you observe. You may want to take pictures, videos or make sketches of your observations. These notes are important to your project because they are needed when you write your report and make your display.
Keep in mind that if your project does not work out as expected, you should still use it. Many scientific experiments do not produce the expected outcome, but still can be successful. Tell what you have learned from the results. Explain where the results differ from what you expected. Examine what you learned and keep notes on what you might do differently to improve results. Remember, your science project still produced useful information.
ANALYZE YOUR PROJECT;
Once you are finished with the experiment, organize your data and notes. You may want to put your data into a spreadsheet and your notes into word processing. Then study the results.
Ask yourself what happened. Do the results agree with your hypothesis? How can you analyze the data to help others understand your project? Make charts and graphs to represent the data to help you analyze it.
Next, draw conclusions from your work. Your conclusion is a summary of the results and discussion of how the results relate to the hypothesis. Does your conclusion answer your original question?
WRITE YOUR REPORT:
Write a report detailing your science project. Include what you did, how you did the project, and what you discovered. Be sure to write about your plan and your experiment. Include your data, and perhaps some of your charts and graphs that help interpret your data. Use the background information and research to complete your project.
As you write your report, make sure it is legible and has correct spelling and grammar. Make it interesting by writing it in your own words. Your report may be one page long.
MAKE YOUR DISPLAY:
The display is crucial to your success at the Science Fair. Your display must be neat and organized, but also needs to tell the story of your project in a concise manner. It should include:
- Title
- Your Name
- Hypothesis
- Summary of information
- Explanation of project
- Display items
- Charts, diagrams, graphs, pictures, etc.
- Conclusion
- Application of what you learned
PRACTICE YOUR PRESENTATION:
When you make your presentation to the judges and others, it is important that you are prepared. Know what you are going to say before you have to say it. By rehearsing your presentation, you become confident talking about your project. Start practicing by yourself, then find some adults to present to as judges.
Practicing will make you calmer and more composed on science fair day. If you are prepared and know what you are going to say, you will do your best and make yourself proud.
DON’T WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE:
Plan ahead. Allow enough time to do your science project and you will have fun learning about one of your interests.
Look at these sites for ideas!
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/projects.html
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml#browseallprojects
https://sciencebob.com/category/experiments/
http://www.hometrainingtools.com/a/science-fair-projects-for-elementary
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/40-cool-science-experiments-web
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/projects.html
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml#browseallprojects
https://sciencebob.com/category/experiments/
http://www.hometrainingtools.com/a/science-fair-projects-for-elementary
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/40-cool-science-experiments-web