Playa del Rey Elementary School S.T.E.M. Science Fair

What is a Science Fair Project? A science fair project is an investigation that is designed to solve a problem or answer a question. It is a 'science' fair project because you use a procedure called the scientific method to answer the question. The 'fair' part takes place when everyone who has done a project gathers together to showcase their work. Usually a student takes a visual aid to a science fair to explain the project. For some science fairs the actual project accompanies the visual aid. Projects and presentations are evaluated and grades or awards may be given.

What do I do first and how do I get started What do I do first and how do I get started? (Use the SCIENTIFIC METHOD to get going!) Observe the world around you. Based on your observations, ask a question about something that interests you. State a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a statement that you can test using an experiment. Plan an experiment. Perform the experiment and make observations. These observations are called data. Analyze the data. This gives you the results of the experiment. From the results, decide whether or not your hypothesis was true. This is how you reach conclusions. Depending on how your experiment turned out, you may have ideas for further study or you may find that your hypothesis was not correct. You could propose a new hypothesis to test.

#1. Formulate a Hypothesis The hypothesis is a statement of ideas that can be tested in an experiment. It should be interesting to you! It is also a prediction of how changing the independent variable will affect the dependant variable. You will answer the hypothesis by changing the variables and collecting data. Your question might sound like, “How does one thing affect something else?” Your job is to either prove or disprove the hypothesis.

#2. Identify your Variables Variables are things in an experiment that change or could be changed. INDEPENDENT VARIABLES are variables you change on purpose. DEPENDANT VARIABLES respond to a change in the independent variable. CONSTANTS are variables that DO NOT CHANGE. CONTROLS are the standards for comparison in an experiment. REPEATED TRIALS are the number of times that the experiment is repeated for each independent variable.

#3. Design the Experiment Ask yourself, “How can I test what will happen?” Be creative! Ask your friends, parents and teachers for advice and input. Use your imagination! Do a great deal of ‘thinking’ before ‘doing’. Draw pictures, make models or do simulations.

#4. Develop a List of Materials The list should include everything that you need to do the experiment. Include the amount of supplies, ingredients and materials. Make sure you are accurate with your list so that another scientist could follow your directions precisely!

#5. Develop a Procedure Step by step instructions are necessary. Accurate data is the most important part! Data can be collected in the form of numbers (temperature, weight, volume) or observations (color, patterns, shape) Data should be recorded as precisely as possible in the form of a log-book or spreadsheet or graph. Collect data the same way every time!

#6. Data Analysis This is where you explain what you observed in the experiment. Arrange your data that you collected into the form of a chart table or graph. It should be easily understood by anyone who looks at the results.

#7. The Conclusion This is going to be the last step of your experiment. It will include the results of the investigation and how they relate to the hypothesis. You will reveal if the hypothesis was proven or disproven. The conclusion is much like a summary or reflection of the experiment.

#8. Reference List The reference list tells where you got your sources of information. You may have gathered some information from books, magazine articles, websites, encyclopedias, or credible interviews. When you are finished gathering your references, organize them like a bibliography at the end of a paper.

#9. Visual Display The visual display should be constructed for the exhibit and judging. It should be free standing or a tri-fold, or 3 sided, display. Creatively present your findings and information on the display. The title and visual should be on the center panel (graphs, charts, photos) The hypothesis and data recordings should be on the left. Data analysis and conclusion on the right. Be creative, imaginative and be able to answer questions about your project! If you are recreating your experiment, you need to have enough supplies to present and clean your area!

Example:

What questions do you have?