1. SCIENCE FAIR 2011 PARENT PRESENTATION

2. Purpose of Tonight To give you information concerning what constitutes a science fair project To make you aware of the timelines connected to the Science Fair Answer any questions you may have about the Science Fair or the projects.

3. Dates Due This helps keep the project going forward so it is well designed and the project actually produces data that is accurate. Students are going to be held accountable for meeting these deadlines as this develops a life long job skill.

4. Question – Due October 8th This is the KEY to a good science fair project. If our question is good, then our we seriously can develop a good experiment. They give you some examples in the packet concerning questions.

5. Hypothesis Due October 14th This is the prediction you make of what you think is going to happen. An important aspect of this part is to give a REASON as to why you think your prediction is going to happen.

6. Variables Due October 22nd We have two types of variables: Controlled Variable and Independent or Manipulated Variable. The controlled variable is the one thing that I keep the same. The Manipulated or Independent Variable is what changes i.e. the weight of my airplane.

7. Materials Due October 29th This is a list of all the items you will need to conduct your experiment. Make sure you are specific and give amounts and sizes.

8. Procedures Due November 5th These are DETAILED step-by-step directions for doing the experiment. You must be exact in explaining the steps you are going to use so anyone can replicate your experiment. You need to do this experiment at least 5 times to make it valid.

9. Data Due November 11th You must first design a data collection system such as a graph, chart, journal entry. How are you going to record your data each day or for each trial? Make sure your system is capable of showing repeated trials. Neatness, neatness, neatness is the key to this section of your project.

10. Results Due November 19th This part of the project includes three parts: –Data Chart where you have collected your raw data. –Graph (line, bar, or pie) Line shows continuous data Bar shoes distinctive data Pie when the data is a percentage of a whole –Written Explanation of the chart and graph.

11. Conclusion Due December 3rd The conclusion tells what you learned from your experiment. You will need to answer the questions on page 27 and 28 completely and accurately.

12. Research Due December 17th Made up of many parts: –Title Page –Acknowledgements –Background Research –Sources and Bibliography

13. Display Checklist Due December 20th This can be found on page 55 of your booklet. It is your self and parent checklist to determine the quality of your project.

14. Completed Projects Due January 5th Please look at page 57 of your packet to see how the Science Boards must be set-up. Boards can be purchased at Staples, Walmart, Office Depot Projects must be in the classrooms by 8:00 am.

15. Judging will take place on January 12th No parents or visitors may be present during the judging and scoring time. A scoring sheet can be found on page 59 of the packet. Students will be interviewed and will have to be able to explain their projects thoroughly to the judges.

16. GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY EXPERIMENTING!