Getting Over Your Science Fear How to present your science fair experiment in a way that attracts audiences, attention, and A plus grades

How to get from here...

To Here….. I

Which Board Goes Back to the Drawing Room?

Science Project Board Do’s Find an experiment. Library books and websites are your guide. Have project approved by teacher. Leave yourself at least two weeks to complete your poster board after data is collected. Look at samples of Science Project Poster boards - Google Images - Science Fair Poster Board Sketch out your ideas with pencil on scrap paper before committing to the poster board. Come up with a catchy title for your experiment and place it in the center of your board in large, neat type!

Science Poster Board Do’s - Space elements evenly across the layout to achieve balance Use photographs and colored graphs to create visual interest Use a ruler, yardstick or T-square to measure and cut evenly. Mount written information and pictures on construction paper instead of writing directly on the poster board. (Lots of Construction paper is available from your friendly school librarian, Ms. Alter.)If you make a mistake, it will never look professional or appealing. Use black or dark colors for type.

Poster Board Do’s Make type large enough to read from four feet away: As a general rule, use 24 pt type for headings, 16 pt type for text blocks. Use subheads and bullet points rather than long paragraphs of dense text. Label all graphs, charts, and tables. On graphs, make sure you label the X and Y axes. Write descriptive captions for photos.

Science Fair Poster Board Don’ts Don’t wait until the last minute! Don’t forget to spell check and proofread (Ask a parent or teacher!) Don’t write or draw directly on board; mount all photographs, charts, graphs, and other images on construction paper before positioning on your board with glue stick. Don’t write with free-hand; try to word process everything. Don’t use too many fonts; stick with one or two that are easy to read. Don’t forget to use a checklist to make sure that your poster board contains all the most important elements. Background/Materials/Procedure/Results/Explanation Don’t paste elements in any random order; remember to organize your steps into an orderly flow, from the question you are researching, to the results and the meaning of your experiment.

Getting Over Your Science Fear... These sites take you step by step through finding a project to presenting it in poster board format. 1. Science Fair Central: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/Science-Fair-Presentations/How-to-Create-a-Winning-Science-Fair-Display-Board.html 2. Science Buddies - http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_display_board.shtml 3. Science Fair 9/11 - http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/blog/2012/01/30/science-fair-911-display-boards/

Don’t Forget: School Library Books!

Still on the prowl for the perfect project? Check Out These Websites! http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/ - SteveSpenger Science Experiments http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml - Science Buddies http://www.education.com/science-fair/ - Education.Com Science Fair Projects

Experiment on Core Sampling: And Now for Practice... Experiment on Core Sampling: How Scientists can determine soil/mineral/ice content by core sampling

And Now for Practice... Review and read the simple experiment on core sampling that was distributed. Working with your group use the graph paper provided to prepare a rough draft of how this experiment might actually be presented on your science fair poster board. Use color pencils for creativity. Write neatly. Include all the elements in a meaningful and sensible order.

Your sample draft should include -the title of your experiment -the purpose of your experiment (what you are trying to demonstrate) -the materials used in your experiment -the results of your experiment -background on why this experiment is significant (use the Wikipedia article provided)