Where to begin & How to Stay on Track Science Fair Help Where to begin & How to Stay on Track

The Big Rocks Project boards will be supplied at no cost Project board will be given to students when he/she demonstrates to the teacher they are prepared Project are due no later than WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7th . No exceptions. Family STEM Night & Fair will be Thursday, December 8th from 5:00-6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. Project Boards will be displayed in grade level hallways.

TRADITIONAL STEM EXPERIMENT *Student works through the scientific method/process* Ask a Question Research Develop a hypothesis (an educated guess based upon research) Materials & Procedures (must be very detailed, clear, and well-written so that the experiment can be replicated) Conduct the experiment (there must be a MINIMUM OF 6TRIALS, the more the better) Results (tables, graphs, charts, photographs, illustrations) Conclusions

TRADITIONAL EXPERIMENT REQUIREMENTS: (1) 1-2 page research paper (a Thinking Map for brainstorming/prewriting must be attached) and (2) There must be a MINIMUM of 6TRIALS. SAMPLE QUESTIONS: What mixture makes the best bubble solution? Does (wing design) (size) (type of paper) affect the flight (time) (distance) of a paper airplane? Does (ramp height) (car weight) affect model car (speed) (distance) [select one]? *Consumer product experiments are not suggested* Which brand of paper towel is most absorbent? Which brand of popcorn pops the most kernels? Which brand of laundry detergent removes food stains the best?

STEM PROJECT SAMPLE STEM EXPERIMENT: Build an Electromagnet Materials: a large iron nail (about 3 inches), about 3 feet of THIN COATED copper wire, a fresh D size battery, small paper clips or other small magnetic objects   Make it an experiment- You can try to answer one of these questions: Does the number of times you wrap the wire around the nail affect the strength of the nail as a magnet? Does the thickness or length of the nail affect the electromagnets strength? Does the thickness of the wire affect the power of the electromagnet?

Electromagnet

INVENTION *Student creates an original STEM invention and tests its usefulness/application* Write a 1 page research paper about an inventor (a Thinking Map for brainstorming/prewriting must be attached) Brainstorm problems & solutions Choose the solution you are most interested in turning into an invention then draw a diagram of that invention CREATE YOUR INVENTION AT HOME! Test its usefulness/application a MINIMUM OF 3 TIMES. Develop a marketing plan.

INVENTION Some of our greatest inventions and ideas have come from someone thinking about how to do something different or better than it's been done before! A lunch-box alarm that goes off when an unauthorized person opens it A dog collar that lights up at night A newspaper launcher A new type of rake that allows you to pick up leaves without bending over A robot that distributes and collects student papers A glove with a light for signaling turns when riding a bike at night

INVENTION Automatic Milk Dispenser

INVENTION Automatic Dog Washer

Traditional STEM Projects Resources Traditional STEM Projects http://www.sciencebuddies.org/ http://www.sciencebob.com/index.php http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/Science-Fair-Projects/Practice-Investigation-with-Virtual-Labs.html http://www.sciencefair-projects.org/ http://www.chem4kids.com/

Resources Invention http://legacy.teachersfirst.com/lessons/inventor2/index.cfm http://library.thinkquest.org/J002783/InvCon.htm http://legacy.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/InventorsToolbox.html http://www.inventored.org/k-12/inv-hist.html http://www.leslienettling.com/NettlingInventionConvention.htm#examples

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