Science Fair General Rules
q All entries must present a display.
q This is a student-driven project where parents are encouraged to participate in an advisory role.
q No hazardous chemicals should be used in any experiment.
q Live animals can be used in projects as long as they cannot be harmed in any way. “Animals” include any living thing (insects, worms, house pets, etc.). Also animals cannot be brought to school with your project – take pictures but please do not bring in a sample.
q Any project demonstrations requiring batteries, matches, and lighters must be pre-approved and flagged by the Science Chair.
q Please do not use pre-packaged science kits.
q A Student’s Name, Grade, and Teacher Name should be labelled clearly on all projects.
Be safe and HAVE FUN!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Experiment Guidelines
All experiments should be conducted using the Scientific Method. An experiment can answer an original question or can recreate testing an existing question. It is important that you perform each step of the process yourself and use your own ideas to explain your experiment. You can search websites, science books, etc., for thousands of ideas on possible experiments. However, the best experiments always stem from questions in your mind about something you are interested in.
The Scientific Method
1. Observation – Look around your world. What do you see? Is there an area that interests you? Do you wonder about something?
2. Question – Develop a testable question about your observations. The question should be narrow enough to be answered by a single test. The Purpose of your experiment is to answer this question.
3. Hypothesis – This can also be called a prediction. What do you think will happen when you perform your test? This should be a careful educated guess.
4. Procedure – This is the test to answer your question. What are the steps to perform your experiment? The best experiments usually have a control and a variable to compare results. Record each step of your procedure so that your test is reproducible. Carefully record what happens at each step.
5. Results – What happened during your test? This is the experiment’s answer to your question. This may or may not be the same as your hypothesis and that’s ok. It is always best to repeat your experiment a few times to confirm your results.
6. Conclusion – Discuss your results – did they surprise you or were they just as you expected? Why? Was there a scientific principle that explains your result? What would you do differently if you could do this again? This is the part we love to hear about because it shows how much you were thinking about your experiment. It’s also the part that is most useful to another scientist who may create further experiments to learn more about your results.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Display Guidelines
The display you submit to the Science Fair will represent all of your hard work. All Science Fair entries must present a display. Please put careful time and attention into this display. Remember the physical display makes the first impression on the judges and all who review your work. All lettering should be clear and easy to read. You can creatively cover the backdrop with colored paper or fabric but the information presented should be readable. The information required should be addressed in a concise but complete manner.
All display boards must fit certain size and shape restrictions due to the space available. All displays must stand by themselves. Tri-fold display boards are commercially available at many local businesses. They are inexpensive and designed specifically for these events. They can also be used several times if the background is recovered and neat. However, creative ideas are encouraged and welcomed as long as they meet the size requirements. Please do not exceed the dimensions of 48” high x 36” wide x 30” deep. The commercial display boards generally meet these requirements.
All displays should include the Title for your project, Your Name, and Teacher’s Name centered on your display. Please check and recheck your display for any misspelled words, incorrect titles, or insufficient information. Carefully label all charts and graphs that present data collected.
The following information should be included on your display.
Left Panel |
Center Panel
Title of Experiment Name & Teacher
|
Right Panel |
Purpose |
Procedure |
Results |
Hypothesis |
Graphs/Charts with Data |
Conclusion |
Materials |
Pictures
|
|
We encourage pictures on your display board. These can be hand drawn sketches or photographs. Have someone take photos of you performing your experiment. This demonstrates clearly that you did the work on your project and shows how much fun you had doing it!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Judging Criteria
The Science Fair at Challenger Elementary is a non-competitive event. We want every child to walk away feeling successful. Each participant will receive a pin to wear proudly during the day to show they participated. They will also receive an award ribbon for their project.
Participants will present their project to a judge for approximately two minutes. The judges will acknowledge an area of strength in each project. The judging criteria have been listed for students to keep in mind while they are creating and presenting their projects. Judges will be asked to identify one area of strength they believe the student has exhibited. They will acknowledge that area of strength by placing 3 color-coded stars on the student’s evaluation sheet. While many students will share the same areas of strength, this allows the student to be acknowledged on an individual basis.
The judges will have evaluation sheets that review the following aspects of all projects:
1. Creative Ability – Originality, Creative Thinking, Interesting and Creative Presentation.
2. Scientific Thought – Is the topic narrow enough? Are variables controlled? The judges will ask themselves if the project was well thought out and if the student followed through on their research, experimentation, interpreting results, etc.
3. Thoroughness – This acknowledges any research done, whether the student worked carefully, and whether they included all the required steps.
4. Skill - Judges will assess if it appears the student did most of the work themselves. It is ok to have parental help, however it must be clear that the student performed most of the work. Neatness will also be assessed in this category.
5. Clarity – This involves the ability to clearly present ones project. The judges will acknowledge if the students are able to answer questions clearly and completely.
6. Overall Presentation – This is a general statement of the students overall project.
All students will be judged with respect to their individual grade level (ie. Kindergartners who write out a display board will not be held to the same level of neatness as a 3rd Grader).
Our goal is to make this a positive experience for all participants. We want to ensure each participant walks away with a feeling of pride and accomplishment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------