Camino School Science Fair Packet

Transcription

1 Camino School Science Fair Packet Dear Parents, The Science Fair is open to all students Kindergarten through 8 th grade. The fair is a great way to get students thinking like young scientists. Hands-on exploration of scientific principles is exciting and the educational benefits are plentiful as students develop skills in problem solving, writing, and creative thinking. Please encourage your child to participate in the science fair. ALL students in the 4 th, 5 th, and 8 th grade are REQUIRED to participate. The first step is to complete and submit a Science Fair Entry Form available on the school webpage. Please note that your child MUST have their science fair project approved by his/her teacher. Review the attached information packet with your child once the project has been approved by the teacher. Once you have received a signed copy of your student s entry form, Information Packet includes: - Safety Rules and Guidelines - Example of Display Board - Student Project checklist/timeline - Description of project types and the scientific method - Sample judging criteria Will be given out in your student s classroom prior to science fair There are many resources available to help complete a thorough project. The internet is a wonderful resource, but sometimes the number of choices can be overwhelming; sometimes books and magazines are the most straightforward approach. Here are just a few of the many resources available: - Your local library or school library - Museums and Nature Centers - Camino School computer lab - Science Websites (Science Buddies, All Science Fair Projects, etc.) ** This project is done at home and adult support is needed and encouraged. However, the project must clearly reflect the student s own efforts/work. Students will be presenting their projects to judges and must be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of the process undertaken to complete their project. Questions are encouraged Contact your child s teacher or the Science Fair Coordinator: Kathy Meierotto at or kathymeierotto@gmail.com

2 CAMINO SCHOOL SCIENCE FAIR SAFETY RULES AND GUIDELINES The entrant should do work exhibited. Outside advising from parents, teachers, or professionals is fine, but the student must do his or her own work and appropriately site any help received. When setting up fair display, the project must be no larger than 48 inches wide and 36 inches deep and must be able to stand on a table by itself. Please see handout with display board example. The project that is displayed at the fair must be the one approved by the student s teacher. The entry form must be submitted on or before the published entry deadline. In general, only batteries may power any working electrical apparatus placed on display. Electrical outlets can be made available, but MUST be requested in advance - NOT on the day of the science fair. Dangerous chemicals, drugs, heat or flame/fire, and explosives must NOT be exhibited. No hypodermic needles, syringes, glass, or sharp or hazardous objects may be exhibited. No live or dead animals. If equipment is unsafe for a younger child to touch, please bring photograph only Students are required to use any necessary safety equipment when conducting experiments at home (ex. Safety glasses, gloves, ear plugs, protective clothing, etc.) The school cannot be responsible for the security of items exhibited. NOTE: Science Fair and school officials reserve the right to remove any exhibit that is deemed objectionable or hazardous.

3 CAMINO SCHOOL SCIENCE FAIR DISPLAY BOARDS Here are examples of how to lie out your display board. Grades K-5: neatly handwritten or typed display boards. Grade 6-8: must be typed. Three-sided boards are required (not larger than 48 inches wide and 36 inches deep; and must be able to stand on a table by itself). Remember that your display board tells the story of your project! Use your imagination with colors and artistic touches to attract the viewer. Include photos, drawings, graphs or charts whenever possible. All information on your board should be neat, organized and easy to read. Display boards may be purchased at office supply stores. NOTE: On the front of the Board include upper Right hand corner: 1. Student Name 2. Teacher Name 3. Grade Level

4 CAMINO SCHOOL SCIENCE FAIR STUDENT TIMELINE/CHECKLIST Name: Date: 1. Choose a topic that interests you (your project can relate to a hobby or personal interest). 2. Complete the project entry form (parent signature required); Return to school for teacher approval. DUE: 3. With teacher approval, you can begin your project. a. Ask yourself a question. This is what you will investigate. b. What do you think will happen? This is your hypothesis. c. Decide how you will measure and record your results. This is your procedure. d. Make a list of the equipment/supplies you will need. These are your materials. e. Begin your experiment or demonstration/model/collection^ f. Write down everything you do and everything that happens. This is your result. g. Explain your project - what happened and say whether your original question has been answered. This is your conclusion. 4. Begin work on your display board. Photos, charts and graphs can be time-consuming allow plenty of time. 5. Prepare a 1-2 minute oral presentation/project introduction for the judges. Be ready to answer the judges questions regarding your project. Practice! This is your chance to wow the judges with all you have learned, so come prepared. ^Students choosing to show a Collection (K-3 only) should omit steps 3a, 3b, 3c See you at the Science Fair!

5 Project Types and Descriptions Non-Experimental Project There are different categories of non-experimental projects including: - Demonstrations/Models (Kindergarten 5 th grade) o In this type of project, the student researches a topic of interest and demonstrates a scientific principle and/or builds a model that shows how something works, how something is created, or how something occurs in the environment o Make sure you: pick a topic you are interested in studying, show that you understand what you studied, when possible make a model correctly to teach others about your topic. Include pictures, diagrams, or anything else that would help teach others about your project. o Do thorough background research and site references. - Collections (Kindergarten 3 rd grade) Experimental Project o A collection project helps students to learn observation and classification skills. The collection should be science related. It should include an actual collection, photographs, graphs and charts, or anything that shows what you learned by doing the collection. o Make sure you: sort your collection and tell why you collected it, tell when and for how long you collected it, tell where you collected it, tell how many items are in your collection. o Do thorough background research and site references. An experimental project begins with a question that can be answered by conducting an experiment, not by answering yes or no. For example, How does salt affect the freezing point of water? is a better question for an experimental project than Does salt affect the freezing point of water? Also, in an experimental project you will need to change something (variable) and measure something (results) when answering the question (conclusion). If you cannot figure out what to change in doing the experiment, you probably have a non-experimental project. Any project begins with thorough background research = site your references.

6 Begin by thinking of a question that interests you. Then follow the steps below: 1. Use the scientific method 2. Do a real experiment 3. Base your conclusion on your data, not on what you think or want to happen 4. Make your display show that you understand what happened 5. Include your own ideas in your project make it original 6. Make your display so that someone who hasn t studied your subject will understand your experiment The Scientific Method is a consistent way of answering a question in a scientific way. These are the steps to follow: I. Question Think of a question that can t be answered with a simple yes or no, but make it simple enough that you ll be able to think of a way to answer it reliably. II. Hypothesis A good guess at the answer to your question. It is always okay to be wrong, so don t pick a question to which you already know the answer. III. Experiment - Design an experiment or think of a procedure you will follow to find an answer to your question. Make a careful list of all materials you use for your experiment. List each step of what you do to find the answer. IV. Data Collection Carefully record data that you collect during your experiment or procedure. It s better to have too much data than not enough, so keep lots of notes. Graphs can make it easier to see what your data is telling you. V. Data Analysis Think carefully about what your data tells you, even if it shows that your hypothesis is not correct. Use all of the data not just one or two pieces of data, especially if they re very different from the rest. VI. Conclusion This is simply the answer to the question you started with. Be sure your conclusion is based on the results of your experiment even if it doesn t support your hypothesis (isn t what you expected to happen).