Steps On How To Do Science Fair Projects

In order to do well at a science fair you need to make sure that you follow very specific steps to doing a science fair project. So let's begin...

1. See how science fair judges think. The judges are going to provide your project with a score for each step, however, younger science fair participants will not be judged or critiqued as severely as older science fair participants. This doesn't mean that elementary or junior high student can avoid learning about or using the scientific method, it just means that judges won't deduct as many points if you miss a step or if you don't complete all the requirements for each step in the process. It is always good to know what is expected of you in advance.

2. Now you need to decide what you want your project to be about. What are you curious about? What do you wonder about? Brain storm science fair project ideas. Then narrow down your options and come up with one very specific science fair project topic that will be fun and will keep your interest for a couple months.

 

3. Now comes the interesting part... doing each of the six steps of the scientific method .

(a). Be sure to make observations about a specific topic that interests you. For example, if you are interested in ecosystems then your first step would include research about what ecosystems are, as well as direct observations about the ecosystem that your project will be based on. The purpose of this step is provide you with the background information that you need to formulate a hypothesis and develop an experiment.

(b). To write a question that your experiment will answer. See how to write the The Big Science Fair Projects Question ...

(c). Next is to turn your Big Question in to hypothesis. A hypothesis is the focus of your project. It is a statement, a guess of what you think will be the outcome of your experiment.

What is go great about a science fair project is that you do not have to be right about your prediction. Your experiment will either prove or disprove your guess. Example: The angle of a solar panel in relationship to the sun impacts the panel's ability to produce energy. It is important to make your hypothesis as specific as possible. If you are working with a complex topic, then you can create several hypotheses to test, with each one addressing a specific issue.

(d). Now comes the fun. You get to do perform your science fair experiment. Each experiment needs to have a very specific purpose, to answer the questions asked by a single hypothesis.

For example, if you are working on
energy science fair projects that deals with alternative energy and you have a hypothesis that states that wind turbines are the best alternative, then experiment to see if your hypothesis is indeed true. Your data would include observations about how much soil is moved during the heavy rains and the type and severity of soil erosion that occurred during the observation period.

(e). Collect, interpret and record your science fair data. Data needs to be quantitative, or measurable, in nature. This means that you will need to collect physical measurements, time measurements, speed measurements, population counts and energy output measurements. Data that is collected needs to be organized so that it does not become contaminated with transcription errors or omissions. Spreadsheets and tables work well for organizing your data.

The analysis of your data will involve statistics, comparisons and other analysis techniques. The purpose of the analysis phase of your science fair project is to find relationships between your data and to find answers to your hypothesis statement.

(f). After you have analyzed your data, it is time to draw your conclusions from the results of your science fair experiment. You will need to identify problems with your experiment's design, you will need to determine if your data is reliable, you will need to determine if there are alternative explanations for your findings and you will need to make recommendations about what further research is still needed.

One of the most common questions asked by parent is, "How much can I help my children with their science fair projects without it being my work?"

The answer to this question is going to be based on a number of factors. These factors include the age of the students, the level of the science fair and the rules of the science fair or science competition that is being entered.

For elementary school aged students, parents can generally give guidance in designing and constructing their science fair projects. That means asking questions so that your children can figure out their own answers.

For very young students who don't have the spelling or writing skills to complete their reports on their own, it is best for your child to dictate as you input his / her words into the computer for the report.

However, most science fair competition rules strictly state that parents are to act as secretaries only and not project participants. Parents can, however, supervise their kids when they are working with sharp objects, heat sources or other potentially hazardous materials. Parents cannot do the project for their kids.

Junior high students will need to take on most of the responsibility of their science fair projects. Parents can guide or mentor their kids, but they cannot directly contribute to the design or execution of the project. Parents can, however, be used as an experiment subject, supervise their kids when they work with potentially hazardous materials, act as an assistant. Just as long as the student is doing the thinking, innovating and primary execution of their project, parents can assist as needed.

In high school, parents need to be hands off in regards to science fair projects. High school students need to find resources and ideas for their projects on their own. Parents can, however, direct students to where they can find resources to answer their questions or buy supplies for the project. Because more scholarship money is at stake for high school student projects, there are stricter rules about how much parents can help at this level of the game.

While helping with individual projects is generally not encouraged, the role of parents in science fairs and competitions is that of a cheerleader... and let's face it... a transportation driver!

Many science competitions prefer a team project format as opposed to an individual project format. Because of this a team mentor or coach is allowed for each team of three to five students. Parents who act as the team's coach provide guidance to their team in regards to organizing tasks, scheduling meetings and tweaking the design of the project. Parent coaches can also help to keep the students motivated and working towards their goals. This is a great option for parents who want to be more involved in their kids' education.

Students of all ages can benefit from completing science fair projects. In fact, the earlier you start working with science fair projects the better. However, most schools don't open up their science fairs to students until they are in middle school, or about the fifth grade. There are a few notable schools that are beginning to realize the value of allowing all students to participate in school science fairs, so younger students will undoubtedly be given more opportunities to enter science fairs in the near future.

If your school has a science fair then chances are you will need to be in the fourth or fifth grade in order to enter a project. Middle school aged students are very gifted thinkers and are very creative. Both of these virtues will help you to overcome obstacles related to your inexperience working with the scientific method and a limited number of science concepts to work with.

Junior high students, kids in grades six through eight, make up the majority of science fair participants. This age group is quickly developing their science concept expertise and they have the ability to create intermediate, middle school science fair projects. This is a great age to start participating science fairs, and a great time to start building a name for yourself in the academic realm of science fairs and competitions.

High school science fair participation tends to drop somewhat because participation is no longer mandatory in most cases. The students that do decide to participate in school, local and state level science fairs do so because of their interest in science. This is a great time of your life to enter a science fair because placing in or winning a science fair is going to look great on your college entrance applications as well as provide you with the opportunity to win scholarship money.

There are several purposes for entering a science fair contest. The first purpose is to develop your understanding of science and the scientific method. Skills that you develop while creating, executing and presenting your science fair project will be invaluable to you as you enter higher level science classes, college and finally the professional world.

Here is a science fair project that was entered into our online science fair contest by a 1st grader with her father's help. She made quite and impact in her community.

Another purpose for entering a science fair contest is to display your efforts. After all of the hard work that you put into your project it is time to be recognized for your efforts. This is also a great time to talk to others about the science topics that interest you and to get feedback on your project, science innovations and on your topic angle.

The third purpose of entering a virtual online science fair contest is to learn how to defend your project. Learning how to defend your project is very important as it will help you to do better in future science fairs, it will develop your public speaking abilities, it will develop your critical thinking skills and it will also help you to prepare for defending your college thesis and your professional science papers.

The final reason why students enter science fair contests is to win prizes and recognition. Prizes offered by science fairs range from microscopes to full ride college scholarships. Some contest offer scholarships worth up to $100,000, so you can see how valuable these contests can be for your young scientists. In addition to prizes, formal recognition for your science accomplishments is also very valuable. This recognition can be used to stand out from other applications for competitive scholarships and grants, as well as to help you stand out from other college applicants.