1. Virtual Fair Template Go through each page and replace the text with your own project information. Each slide gives instruction about how many words can be on a page or if pictures should be used. You may leave the template black and white or change it to a different theme—there are no points awarded for the background design. You should delete this instruction slide before you turn in your PPT to the S: STEM Fair 2016 folder at school. School_Project Title

2. Project Title Student Name(s) School Grade(s)

3. Question An excellent question will be interesting, creative, worded scientifically and relevant to the world today. Your slide should also include your thought process and preliminary research on why you selected the question. (250 Word max, no pictures on this slide) Find a question that interests you about something that you have observed, noticed or wondered about. School_Project Title

4. Hypothesis/Design Goal An excellent hypothesis will lead on from the question, be tightly focused and build on existing knowledge and be testable. (An Engineering/Invention project will have a design goal instead of hypothesis). A hypothesis should be a concise 1 or 2 sentences (no pictures on this slide/page). What is your hypothesis? Try to address something that you believe is challenging which you are able to answer in a single experiment. Example: If I give different amounts of fertilizer to bean plants, then the plant that receives the most fertilizer will grow the tallest because fertilizer provides plants with nitrogen. Nitrogen is an important nutrient for plants because it is used by plants to grow new stems and leaves. School_Project Title

5. Research Excellent students will undertake research to help them shape their question and hypothesis and to put their work into a relevant, real-world context. (Engineering/Invention show research how new product will meet a need better than an existing product, how it fills a need). (500 Word max, no pictures on this slide/page) Figure out what others have found out about your subject area or question. How has your research helped you to refine your question and ask something that may not be unique, but is relevant and interesting and not already answered. School_Project Title

6. Experiment/Design Process Excellent students will demonstrate that they have used good experimental techniques and describe their experiment clearly and in detail. (Engineering/Invention should show schematics, assembly information, refining of design, prototyping) (500 Word Max; summary explaining the procedures, variables, materials, & testing/experimental trials. Pictures are very appropriate on this slide/page). Multiple slides may be used to show the experiment. Design and execute an experiment that tests your hypothesis. Include descriptions of the materials, equipment, and methods/techniques you used. Explain the variables and how they will be controlled, manipulated and measured. Also detail any key steps to avoid errors, risks and safety. School_Project Title

7. Data/Observations Excellent data will be relevant, sufficient to support a conclusion and should be recorded accurately and precisely, and be presented clearly. -Excellent observations will describe patterns or trends supported by the data. (Engineering/Invention project show evidence of testing, applications of invention) (multiple slides/pages OK to record data, charts, graphs, and lists are appropriate). Multiple slides may be used to show data/observations, pictures and graphs are appropriate. Report on all of the data, numbers, outputs or outcomes from your experiment. Show an understanding of what you saw happening during your experiment. Describe the patterns and trends you saw emerge as you worked. School_Project Title

8. Conclusion An excellent conclusion will explain how the experiment answers the question or why it fails to do so and whether or not it supports the hypothesis. (500 Word Max, no pictures on this slide/page). How did your experiment support or contradict your original hypothesis? How could you improve your experiment? Did everything go as planned or were there unexpected results? Does what you learned lead to a new question to ask or experiment that would answer it? If so, why would it be important, interesting, or useful to do? School_Project Title

9. Works Cited Excellent students will acknowledge and provide clear references for sources of information that they have consulted and/or referenced and acknowledge any assistance received (e.g. to find equipment and materials, to stay safe or to use unfamiliar equipment or techniques). Use a bibliography generator such as citationmachine.net to document articles you read, people you interviewed etc. School_Project Title

10. Final Instructions Be sure to save the PowerPoint with a file size of under 10MB (Click Save As…Reduce File Size on a Mac or on a PC, right click on pictures and choose Format Pictures, then Compress). You can also save your file as PDF. Make sure that your file will open on a computer OTHER than the one you used to create it (if you worked on it at home, try it on a school computer too). If you work on your project over several days, don’t put the unfinished version in the STEM Fair Folder. Only save your final version of the PowerPoint in Science Fair 2016. Save another copy somewhere else, just in case there is a problem. If you have video clips, use links to the video, do NOT embed in the PPT (it will be too large a file). Your File should be named in the correct format: – School_Title of Project.pptx or – School_Title of Project.pdf You can delete this slide before you turn in your project. School_Project Title