Topic - Science Fair Secrets

Science Fair 911 – Tips for Parents

By Guest Blogger Debbie Leibold 

“It’s science fair time!”  Those words cause many parents to panic and ask questions like, “How are we going to have time for this?”  ”What experiment should my child do?”  ”I have no science background–how am I going to help?”  ”Where do we begin?”

Don’t panic… help is on the way.  Completing a science fair project is not as difficult as you might think and, believe it or not, it can even be really fun!  Here at Steve Spangler Science we’ve created an entire science fair section on our website to help students, parents, and teachers through the science fair process.  We take you through the process step-by-step, starting with the challenge of choosing a topic and ending with suggestions for the display board and presentation tips.  We discuss the scientific method in detail and guide you through the requirements of any good science fair project.  We also have a science fair experiment library for you to browse and some excellent sample science fair projects.

Our hope is that you will find the resources

Science Fair Judging – Why Didn’t I Win?

Guest Blogger: Dr, Maille Lyons, The Science Fair Coach

Most of the time, when you don’t win, a science fair there isn’t any feedback on why your project was not selected as one of the best. Here is a list of the 5 most common reasons a project, that might otherwise seem like a “winner” does not even place in the top tier.

1. Violation: Gadgeteering

Explanation: Projects that do not follow the scientific method to solve a problem will usually be dismissed as a demonstration or a gadget. This is particularly common with a new technology. For example, a project that demonstrates how a solar cell (or DNA extraction kit or hover-craft etc.) works is not sufficient for a competitive science fair project because there is no experimentation. The project might win at school level for the “wow” factor, but will not be considered for awards at higher levels. HOWEVER, the exception to this violation is for science fairs with a specific category for Engineering and/or Technology.  In this case, learn and follow the engineering design principles, which are similar to scientific method.

2. Violation: Failure to follow scientific method

Explanation: The most common errors that fall under this violation are:

• no hypothesis (or

Science Fair 911 – Display Boards

By Blog Editor Susan Wells

You’ve picked the perfect project, pulled together your materials and variables, conducted your experiment. You can see the finish line. But there is one last piece of the science fair project that remains…the project display board.

I’ve been surprised in my working with students and their parents that the display board can make even the most confident scientists to break out in a sweat.

Don’t sweat the display board – this is where your hard work and creativity really get to shine. It is a display that tells the story of all of your efforts and gives the first impression of your project.

Here are a few tips: 

• Keep it simple, neat and organized.
• Start with a powerful title. You want to grab the judges’ and visitors’ attention. A title like “Mentos and Diet Coke Geysers” is nice, but it doesn’t jump out. Try something like “Icky Sticky Soda Geysers – Which One Makes the Biggest Mess?”
• Use your imagination and make it attractive. Use pictures, 3-D objects, colors, graphs, charts or illustrations to draw in your audience.
• Know

Science Fair – What Will the Judge Ask Me?

Guest Blogger: Dr, Maille Lyons, The Science Fair Coach

Part III:  What will the judge ask me?

Some judges will be judging their first science fair, while others will have judged several fairs at varying levels.  Nevertheless there are many common questions and, the more you have thought about them, the better your interview experience will be.

 20 Questions you should expect include:

• Where did you get this idea?
• How did you come up with this title?
• What research did you do?
• What was your hypothesis?
• Why did you think that would happen?
• What were your independent and dependent variables?
• What was your control?
• What did you measure and how?
• How did you calculate that result?
• Why did you choose that amount, (or measurement, or piece of equipment, etc.)?
• How did you replicate the experiment?
• What does that graph tell you?
• How variable were your results and what might explain the variability?
• What did you base that conclusion on?
• Why/How are your findings important?
• Who might want to know this information?
• What would be the next experiment you would do?
• What was the hardest part (or most fun, or most exciting, or most surprising, etc.)?
• Who helped you?
• If you had to do it all over again, is there anything you would do differently?

About Dr. Maille Lyons

Science Fair 911 – Scientific Method

By Guest Blogger Debbie Leibold 

So you have a great science fair project idea, but you’re not sure how to get started? We’re here to help!

Every successful science fair project starts with the Scientific Method. The Scientific Method is just a road map to get you from your question to your answer. Follow these steps to make your experiment amazing!

Question

Find a topic that interests you and decide what you want to learn from the project. Remember to pick a topic that is narrow enough for you to become an expert on one specific aspect of that topic. For more information on choosing a topic, see our first Science Fair 911 blog post or check out the science fair section at www.SteveSpanglerScience.com.

Research

Gather information about the question you want to explore. By doing some research ahead of time about your subject, you will be able to narrow down your question and figure out exactly what it is you want to find out. You will also have some background knowledge that will help you to understand the results of your tests and possibly lead you to some meaningful