Tag - science fair judging

A Behind the Scenes Look at Science Fair Judging

By Blog Editor Susan Wells

A few weeks ago, I was asked to be a judge at a local middle school’s 8th grade science fair. I was so excited to volunteer to take on title of Science Fair Judge for the first time.

I had no idea what to really expect or how to perform my judging duties as I drove to the school that morning.

This science fair consisted of honor science students’ projects. The two science teachers picked the top 20 projects out of their classes for the judges to interview, but the gym was full of project boards.

Before we began, I really enjoyed wandering around and looking at all of the projects. There were so many creative and unique ideas and all of the kids did a great job. I was glad we didn’t have to narrow the field based on the boards. That was a tough decision.

Judges were given sample questions, a few instructions and were then broken into groups of three to interview students
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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
  

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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
  

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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