science fair information night · a recipe for science success key ingredients for a successful...

Science Fair

Information Night

Mark the dates

Project Due at

Primary = Thursday, January 30

Main = Friday, January 31

District = Saturday, March 1

A Recipe for Science Success

Key Ingredients

for a

Successful

Science Fair

Project

Ingredient #1

A healthy dose

of student

interest

Ingredient #2

Add one wonderful topic!

When it comes to choosing a

science fair topic, let the

scientist (your student) be

the guide.

Ingredient #3

Don’t forget the

QUESTION! Without it

your science fair

“recipe” will be

incomplete!

When it comes to deciding

on the question that will

direct your experiment,

remember the “3-S” rule.

• Short

• Simple

• Student-led

Examples of “3-S”

Questions

• In what color light will plants grow best?

• Which paper towel is the strongest?

• Which type of gum keeps its flavor the longest?

• Which type of paper fades the slowest in the sun?

Use Pinterest for ideas

Ingredient #4

A HYPOTHESIS. Don’t let the sound

of that word scare your student

off. When you state your

hypothesis you are simply writing

down what you think will happen

when you do the experiment.

No experiment is official

without one!

Examples of Hypotheses

• In what color light will plants

grow best?

– I think plants will grow best in

artificial light.

• Which paper towel is the

strongest?

– I think Bounty paper towel will be

the strongest.

It is important to

state your hypothesis

BEFORE starting your

experiment.

***remember to document in your journal

Ingredient #5

The list of materials you

will need to complete the

experiment.

Be specific – include the

sizes and quantities of the

items you will need for your

investigation.

Ingredient #6

The experimental

procedure. This is where

you record the steps you

need to take to complete

your experiment.

Ingredient #7

Data - This is the information

you collect from your

experiment. Measure the results

from your experiment in time,

distance, weight, temperature

change, or counting.

Ingredient #8

The conclusion/concluding

statement. This is where the

scientist reports if the

experiment supported or did

not support the hypothesis

(what he or she thought would

happen).

Ingredient #9

The final and perhaps most

important ingredient to a

successful science experiment is a

lab assistant who supports the scientist but lets the scientist

take the lead.

Have fun being a lab assistant, and your child will have fun being the

scientist!

Voila! Your Project is

Complete!

Once you have

completed your

project, you

have one of

two choices

about how it

is presented.

Project Submission

Option 1 - Submitting your

project for display only.

Projects submitted only for

display will not be judged for

the district science fair

competition.

Project Submission

Option 2 – Submitting your

project for the district science

fair competition.

Projects submitted for the

district science fair

competition must be presented to

the judges.

Projects will be judged on the following criteria:

• Scientific approach

• Detail

• Originality

• Scientific Method

• Visual Clarity of Display

• Student Understanding

• Student Knowledge of Project

• Data (Remember – scientists use the metric system)

• Journal

Thank you so much for

coming tonight! We are

looking forward to a

terrific Teasley Science

Fair!

erinsumners@cobbk12.org