Science Fair Information

The purpose of the Science Fair is to offer students the opportunity to think deeply about science as it applies to everyday life.

Dates Lake Norman Elementary Science Fair - Kindergarten-5th grade - Wednesday, November 1, 2017 - Lake Norman Elementary Iredell-Statesville Schools District Science Fair - 3rd-5th grade only Tuesday, November 21, 2017 Unity Center Regional Science Fair December 19, 2017 State Science Fair March 23-24, 2018

This website will provide you all of the necessary information for completing a Science Fair Project in North Carolina. www.ncsciencefair.org Reference this site for… How to do a Science Fair Project. Downloading the Forms Needed. Following the Rules for doing a Project.

Steps in Developing a Science Fair Project Decide on a topic Plan steps in project Conduct some research about your topic Investigate and collect data Create a display with write-ups and graphics Practice talking about your project

Scientific Method The Question Your science fair project starts with a question. This might be based on an observation you have made or a particular topic that interests you. Think what you hope to discover during your investigation, what question would you like to answer? Your question needs to be about something you can measure and will typically start with words such as what, when, where, how or why. Background Research Talk to your science teacher and use resources such as books and the Internet to perform background research on your question. Gathering information now will help prepare you for the next step in the Scientific Method. Hypothesis Using your background research and current knowledge, make an educated guess that answers your question. Your hypothesis should be a simple statement that expresses what you think will happen. Experiment Create a step by step procedure and conduct an experiment that tests your hypothesis. The experiment should be a fair test that changes only one variable at a time while keeping everything else the same. Repeat the experiment a number of times to ensure your original results weren’t an accident. Data Collect data and record the progress of your experiment. Document your results with detailed measurements, descriptions and observations in the form of notes, journal entries, photos, charts and graphs. Observations Describe the observations you made during your experiment. Include information that could have affected your results such as errors, environmental factors and unexpected surprises. Conclusions Analyze the data you collected and summarize your results in written form. Use your analysis to answer your original question, do the results of your experiment support or oppose your hypothesis? Communication Present your findings in an appropriate form, whether it’s a final report for a scientific journal, a poster for school or a display board for a science fair competition.

Suggested Timeline 6 Weeks Prior to the Fair Register online. Choose a topic to investigate or explore/form a hypothesis. Make a list of resources (school library, people to interview, community library) Select necessary reading material Begin preliminary investigations Begin to log in your journal and plan for data collection Continue to research Finalize research question. Ask your teacher to provide feedback to your research question. Set up an experimental design. 5 Weeks Prior to Fair Continue to research and collect data Continue to log in your journal Develop your formal hypothesis Read materials an other necessary resources Begin setting up your experiment or demonstration Continue adding information to project notebook Work on photographs or illustrations for the display Continue recording observations in your journal/log book 4 Weeks Prior to Fair Decide how to set-up your display unit/materials needed. Take photographs. Set-up outline for written final report. Work on first draft of written report 3 Weeks Prior to Fair Start assembling your display unit. Take photographs. Continue recording observations and notes in your journal/log book. Check books, pamphlets, magazines for additional ideas. Verify information with experts (teachers, parents, professors, scientists). Collect materials for display board. 2 Weeks Prior to Fair Begin designing charts, graphs, and/or photographs for the display unit Complete experiment or collection. Complete journal/log book Take final photographs and have them developed. Write second draft of the final report Record final o0bservations on any experiment. Prepare signs, titles, letters and labels for display unit Consult with any experts 1 Week Prior to Fair Complete graphs, charts, and photos. Finish construction your display board. Type or print final draft of written report. Mount graphs, charts, drawings, photographs, and lettering. Assemble components of the display Proofread your written report Set up the display at home and check for any problems. Check, double-check, and triple-check everything! Decide how you are going to get your project home.

Project Guidelines (These guidelines are set by the Regional and State Science Fairs) Projects should be the student’s own work. Parents should be a guide to encourage and offer ideas or materials. Find help for your project in the library or on the internet. Please practice school internet safety guidelines while researching at school or home. Be sure your topic is not too broad, such as “motors” or “plants”. The project should be specific and something you can observe, compare, and experiment. These are not considered projects, rather models and will NOT be judged: Experiments on live animals Models of Volcanoes Dinosaurs Electromagnets Light Blub Circuits The Solar System Tornado Bottles Your display should include the following steps of the Scientific Method. Purpose/Question Research- documented in bibliographic form Hypothesis Procedure Observation Conclusions Research Paper Students will be required to complete a short interview with the judges that will cover questions about their experiment. These questions are not predetermined and will be a result of any questions the judge may have after reviewing the project display board. Interviews will not be judged separately, but will be taken into consideration as judges score all areas of the project. Projects MUST be displayed on a “Project Display Board”. The boards MUST NOT have participants name or picture on FRONT of board. Projects will be judged based on a rubric. All projects will be given a total score. Awards will be given in order or points earned, greatest to least. Top three places will move on to the Regional Science Fair. NO Elementary Projects involving the culturing of Microorganisms are allowed.

These forms can be found at www.ncsciencefair.org

Questions: Contact Bethany Orr bethanyorr@iss.k12.nc.us