2009-2010 Science Fair Guidelines

St. John School Science Fair
Student and Family Information
2009-2010

Dear 7th & 8th Graders and Families:

The Saint John School Science Fair for this school year will take place on Thursday, March 23, 2010. Since designing and carrying out a full-scale scientific investigation is an important outcome of the science curriculum, you are expected to participate. It’s going to be a lot of work, but, if you choose a project of interest to you and prepare ahead of time, it can be not only rewarding but also fun.

General Overview:

Your main job for the science fair project is to provide a detailed record of an experiment that you will design and carry out on your own. You may do one of the following types of investigations:

1. A technology project: Design, build and test a device that makes life easier at home, school or in the community.

2. Test a hypothesis: think of a question you have about the world around you, propose a hypothesis that gives an answer to that question, and design and carry out an experiment that tests your hypothesis.

No matter what type of project you choose to do, you are expected to carry out the steps of the scientific method: Pose a question, make general observations about this “problem” based on what you already know, make a hypothesis, design an experiment that tests the hypothesis, collect date, analyze your results, and come to a conclusion about the accuracy of your hypothesis and the reliability of your data.


What You Need to Show Me:

On the day of the science fair, you will need to present the following things:

1. A complete lab report. This is a detailed, formal record of your investigation from beginning to end. It must include:
a. A title page. Include the title of your project, your name, the date, the name of your homeroom teacher and a picture that relates to the project in some way.
b. The problem or inquiry question. This should be written as a question (“What type of metal conducts electricity most efficiently?), and needs to be narrowed down to a single independent variable. Don’t make so broad that you can’t stay focused on a single goal (“What things improve grades?” is too broad to be meaningful.)
c. A statement of interest. Say why you chose the project that you did in one or two sentences.
d. A hypothesis. Make a clear, reasonable prediction about the outcome of your experiment, and give concise reasons for your prediction. This needs to be 4-10 sentences long; I need to see some evidence of thoughtfulness here.
e. A materials list. This needs to be a specific list of all the materials you used. Don’t just say “boards.” Tell me how many boards, and what size, etc.
f. A procedure. Give me a specific, step-by-step description of everything you did to complete your experiment.
g. A data section. The more data you have, the better. For most projects, I expect this to be the largest section of your lab report. For most experiments, quantitative data will need to be used. I expect to see all of your data presented in table form, and then in one or more graphs.
h. A results section. Give a summary of what your data tells you in the form of a short paragraph, 3-5 sentences long. Be as thoughtful and specific as you can.
i. A conclusion. State simply what happened, whether or not your hypothesis is correct, and why you think you got the results that you did. Then discuss any possible problems with the way you conducted your experiment, what some other possible outcomes may have been, and what you could have done differently. This part is extremely important; make sure you take the time to put some thought into this.

2. A display board. You will need a three-panel display board that can stand up on its own. It will contain the same information as your lab report, but in less detail, and adds some visual elements (pictures, artwork) not included in the lab report. This is not as important as the lab report, to be honest, but it’s still important, especially for the judges, other students and parents, since most of them won’t have time to read through the entire lab report very carefully. Please see the diagram at the back of this packet to see what the display board should look like.

3. What you used to complete your experiment (apparatus). If you did a technology project, you should bring your device with you. If you did an experiment with plants and animals, you should bring them. Think of it as a “show and tell.”


Research Paper Requirement:

In addition to the actual science fair project, you’re expected to write a 3-5 page research paper. The purpose of this paper is to gather background information on your topic before you actually begin to plan your experiment. It should of course have a lot to do with the topic of your overall project. The research paper must include:
1. A title page with the title, your name, the date and your homeroom teacher’s name.
2. A bibliography with at least three sources. At least one of your sources needs to be from a source other than the internet.
3. Internal documentation or footnotes. I’ll give you more information about this as the due date approaches.


Instructions and Guidelines:

1. You will work individually on this project.
2. You may work with animals if you wish, but I discourage it. If you do choose to work with animals, you are expected to make every effort to keep the animals from harm both before and after the project.
3. You need to get approval from me before you start any project. I generally approve any project that is safe, ethical and appropriately challenging for middle school students. (When I reject projects, it’s usually because they’re too hard or they have too many uncontrolled variables.)
4. You may not spend more than $70.00 for this project, including the cost of the display board. (If cost is an issue, please see me privately.)
5. Make every effort to do original work. The internet is full of good ideas, but, please, don’t let a science-related website do your thinking for you.
6. Except for advice, material support, and possibly the judicious supervision of the use of power tools, I expect that parents do absolutely nothing for this project.


Timeline:

November 12: Proposal for your project due, written in the form of a short 3-5 sentence paragraph.
December 3: “Problem,” due, written in the form of a question. Include a statement of interest at this time.
January 14: Research paper due.
January 21: Hypothesis due.
February 4: Materials list and procedure due. (You may have to re-do this if I foresee problems with it.)
February 25: Oral report of progress due.
March22: Display board due for review and editing.
March 23: Science Fair 1:00-3:00 PM & 7:00-8:30 PM. Your attendance is required at both sessions.

North Deanery Science Fair, March 25, 2010:
If you are willing to complete your project as much as a month early, you may participate in the North Deanery Science Fair. I will award 50 points extra credit to any student willing and able to do this. The requirements for this science fair are almost the same as for the St. John science Fair, but you do have to provide the judges a journal as well. If you’re interested, I encourage you to see me for details.

If you have any questions or concerns about this project, please see me as soon as you think of them. I’m willing and eager to help you with your project.