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Project Steps

1. Selecting A Topic The first step in preparing a good science fair project is to select a topic for your project. Being the first 'hurdle' a student faces when starting a science fair project and they are often faced with quite a dilemma. Choosing a good project is a very important because is can make the difference between a good and excellent project. First of all, you should pick a topic you are interested in. Secondly, it doesn't have to be complicated. Students often select complicated projects and then end up not fully understanding the concepts or even giving up on the project. The Ideas page has a list of generic project ideas that can be either simplified or expanded upon to fit your needs.

2. Research your Topic. - After selecting your topic, learn everything about it. Books on your topic can most likely be found in your local library or bookstore. The best source for information is here on the Internet. You can use the many search engines available to find information or try our Science Links page with a vast amount of links to various science related sites on the Internet.

3. Make A Plan - Once you consider yourself an 'expert' about your topic, make a plan as to how you will conduct your experiment. Your plan should include the following: 

·         The purpose of your experiment 

·         The the variable(s) or the things that you are going to change during the
experiment. 

·         Your Hypothesis or what you think the outcome of the project will be. 

·         A detailed procedure outlining how you will conduct the experimentation. 

4. Conduct the Experiments - The next step is to follow the plan that you have written. While conducting the experiments make your you keep detailed notes on everything that you observe. You may even want to take pictures or make sketches of your observations. These notes are vital to your experiment because they are needed when you write your report and make your display.

5. Analyze Your Results - Once you are finished with the experiment, organize your notes. You may want to recopy your notes so that they are more organized and can be easily understood by others. Then, analyze them. Ask yourself, what happened, did the results agree with your hypothesis, and so on. Make graphs and charts to represent the data to help you analyze it.

6. Write A Report - Write a detailed report about your project. Tell exactly what you did, how you did it, and what you discovered. Be sure you write all about your plan and your experiment. Include your data, and perhaps some charts and graphs to help readers interpret the information. Be sure you also include some of the background information you learned.

7. Make your Display - The Display crucial to your success at the fair because it tells about your project. The display must be neat and well organized. It should include background
information, the problem, your hypothesis, your procedure, your results, your conclusion, your report, and graphs and charts. You can also include photos or drawings of your experiments. For more information on creating your display, see our Display Hints page.

8. Rehearse Your Presentation - When you make your presentation to the judges, it is important that you are prepared and know what you are going to say before you have to say it. By rehearsing your presentation, you get an opportunity to 'work the bugs out' and become to feel comfortable talking about your project. You should start out rehearsing by yourself and then find volunteers to to be mock judges and present it to them. You will calmer and more composed on the science fair day if you are prepared and know what you are going to say.

9. Do your BEST! - At the science fair, try to be as calm and professional as possible. Know what you are talking about and be confident, you will do fine!

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Project Hints Here are some helpful hints when doing a science fair project:

Choose A Topic that Interests YOU
The topic that you choose for your science fair project should be one that is of interest to you. If you have ever tried to do something that did not interest you, chances are that you did not do your best. When participating in a science fair, to have a chance at winning you have to give it your all, or in other words- do your best. It is much easier to do your best when you are actually interested in the topic you are studying.

Do your own work
When you are at the fair, and are asked to speak about your project, how can you talk about it if you didn't actually do it yourself? Getting help on a few specific aspects of your project is okay, there is nothing wrong with that, but it has to be YOU who does the project, not a parent.

Give yourself plenty of time
For your project to be the best you can make it, you must allow yourself plenty of time to get it done. A good project can't be done the night before the fair or even a few days before. A good project requires weeks of planning and experimentation to be successful.

Your Project doesn't have to be complex
The purpose of a science fair is to help you (the student) to learn about a specific topic. Often times, students choose very difficult and tedious projects because they think that it will help them to do better at the fair. In theory, it is a good ideas, but more often then not, the student becomes overwhelmed with the project and ends up not learning very much about it. It is better to pick a simpler project and be able to speak confidently on Science Fair Day then do choose a difficult one and be unsure.

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Writing Reports - A good research paper should include all of the following:

• Title Page Create a Title page including a project title, your name, address, school, grade.
• Table of Contents Include the page numbers for the beginning of each section.
• Introduction The Introduction includes your hypothesis, an explanation of your idea and how you got it. Also include what you hoped to achieve when you started the project.
• Experiment Describe in detail the method you used to collect your data and observations. Your report should be detailed enough for anyone to be able to repeat your experiment by just reading the paper. It would be a good idea to include detailed photographs or drawings of your self-designed equipment.
• In this section, your results are analyzed. This section should flow logically so that the reader can easily follow your train of thought. Compare your data, with theoretical values, and expected results. Discuss how your results varied from similar events. Describe what you would do differently if you were to do this project again.
• Conclusion Summarize your results. Do not introduce anything that wasn't already mentioned in previous parts of the paper.
• Acknowledgments In this section, you should give credit to all who assisted you. This may include individuals, businesses, and educational or research institutions. Identify any financial support or material donations received.
• References This list should include any documentation that is not your own, such as books or articles, that you used. Use proper bibliography format. Download Report Form
  

 

Display Boards The purpose of your display is to display your project to a judge. Content, or the information on the board is the most important thing. Many boards look good but don't have very much information. Your display board should look professional, something that a businessperson might use, not a little kid. It should attract the attention of a viewer and make them want to come over and read about your project. It is good to use color in your display but you shouldn't make it too colorful because it will make your display lose its professionalism. Stick to one or two colors that contrast, such as black and white or red and green. Avoid fluorescent colors because they make your project look cheap. Whatever you do, don't use colors that clash. Use colors sparingly, you don't want the judges focusing on the colors instead of the content. The title is very important in a display board. It should be eye-catching and easy to read. Be sure that the letters are large enough to read across a room. Use dark colors for the title. Most display boards are of a 3 panel configuration and the traditional way to setup this type of board is: Left Panel Purpose Problem Procedure Center Panel Title Illustrations/Photos Graphs/Charts Right Panel Results Conclusion Before you begin, make sure you plan out your board including making sketches. This can save you money if you mess up a board.   Return to top

Project Categories: Astronomy (Planets, Space, Sky Watching), Life Science (Living Things, Animals, Insects), Earth Science (Minerals, Geology, Fossils), Chemistry (Energy), Biology, Physics, Environment, Communicating Science, Health, Technology, Agriculture, Engineering.

Project Ideas

Remember, your science fair project should start with a question. What topic interests you most? What have you always wondered about that topic? Once you've decided the question you want to answer, everything from the hypothesis to the procedure will flow from there.

 

Animals and Insects

• How does electricity affect fruit flies?
• How do different types of liquids affect fruit-fly growth?

 

Earth, Sun, and Stars

• What evidence can we find about the rotation of the earth from star trails?
• What is the size of the earth? (Eratosthenes method)
• How does the color of a background affect its absorption of solar insolation?
• How does sunspot activity affect radio reception?

 

Food and Our Bodies

• What are eating disorders? (research and survey)
• Is there a relationship between eating breakfast and school performance?
• On which foods does fungus grow best?
• How does ethylene affect ripening fruit?
• How are teeth affected by fluorides and acids?

 

Oceans, Rivers, Streams

• Does the amount of water affect the size of the wave?
• How does the volume of a stream affect its flow rate?
• Where is the current of a stream the fastest?
• Is there a relationship between phases of the moon and our weather?

 

Plants and Gardening

• What kind of soil is best for water retention?
• Will antacids help soil polluted by acid rain?
• Does human hair affect the growth of plants?
• How does a garden mist spray affect plant growth?
• How does the duration of insolation affect plant growth?
• What is the percentage of water in various fruits and vegetables?
• Which plants and vegetables make the best dye?
• Which type of wildflower grows best under artificial light?
• How does temperature affect the water uptake in celery plants?
• Does the type of water affect the growth of plants?
• Is soil necessary for plant growth? (hydroponics study)
• How does rotation affect plant growth?
• Does music affect plant growth?
• Does a plant grow best in sunlight or artificial light?
• Can plants deprived of sunlight recover?
• What is the relationship between root and stem growth?
• How does gibberellic acid affect plant growth? (growth hormones study)
• Which color of light causes green beans to grow best?
• Can potatoes be grown without soil?
• How do worms affect plant growth?
• What is the effect of urine on grass?
• What affect do Epsom salts have on plant growth?

 

Water Quality

• What is in our drinking water?
• Are our local waters acidic?
• Do our soils show the effects of acid rain?
• What is the lime content of various samples of water?
• How polluted is our water? (the trapping and study of bacteria with a Millipore filter)

 

Weather

• How can we prevent the weathering of our sidewalks and driveways?
• How does topography affect weather conditions?
• Does the topography of an area affect its local weather?
• How do changes in air pressure affect the weather?
• How are all weather factors related?

 

Other

• Are safe homemade cleansers as effective as commercial cleansers?
• How does particle size affect settling rates?
• How is technology impacting scienfic experiements? Be specific.

Prepare a Science Fair Project

1. Select a Topic - A Science Fair Project is a test you do to find an answer to a question, not just show what you know about something.

 

2. Gather Background Information - Gather information about your topic from books, magazines, the Internet, people and companies.Keep notes about where you got your info

 

3. Scientific Method
State the Purpose of your experiment - What are you trying to find out?
Select a variable (something you will change/vary) that will help you find your answer.
State your Hypothesis - your guess about what the answer will be.
Decide on and describe how you will change the thing you selected.
Decide on and describe how you will measure your results.

 

4. Run Controlled Experiment and Record Data
Do the experiment as described above.
Keep notes in one place. Write down everything you can think of, you might need it later.

 

5. Graphs and Charts- What happened? Answer that question, then put the results in graphs and charts.

 

6. Construct an Exhibit or Display
It has to be neat, but it does NOT have to be typed. Make it fun, but be sure people can understand what you did. Show that you used the Scientific Method.

 

7. Write a short Report- Tell the story of your project - tell what you did and exactly how you did it. Include a page that shows where you gathered background information. It can be 2 pages or even more.

 

8. Practice Presentation to Judges - Practice explaining your project to someone (parent, friend, grandparent, etc.) This will help you be calm on Science Fair Day. The judges are very nice and will be interested in what you did and what you learned.

 

9. Come to the Children’s Museum Science & Technology Fair and have fun! See you there!

* Download Introductory Level Info * Download Sample Project

Return to top * View Science Fair 2004-2005

 

The Children's Museum of History, Living History, Science & Technology 311 Main Street, Utica, NY 13501 Tel: 315-724-6129 * Email: Director Brown * Web: www.museum4kids.net To home page * To top * Email * To Children's Museum website home page

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