A quick “how to” guide for parents and kids. GRES Science Fair 2019! A quick “how to” guide for parents and kids.

Expectations All students are expected to complete a scientific experiment to present at the Science Fair in mid-March as part of our science curriculum.

Due Dates February 5th - Experimental Question due February 11th - Materials and Procedure due February 18th - Project started by this date March 22nd - Experiment Data and Conclusion done April 1st - Final display due at school. April 4th- Science Fair!!! Public viewing 3:35 - 6:00

Key Parts of a Science Experiment Question Hypothesis Variables Materials Procedure Data (Results) Conclusion

Designing a Question Get ideas from your interests first. Shouldn’t be a demonstration. “This is how a volcano works.” Should be written in one of the following ways. (Does A affect B? or Does A have an effect on B?)

Demonstration to experiment Using this acronym, students can take a demonstration and then turn it into an experiment.

Example Demonstration - “How does a plant grow?” We could… substitute different types of soil modify the temperature of the soil eliminate water, soil, etc.

Hypothesis Educated guess or prediction. Should be done before you begin the experiment. Should be a complete sentence with some explanation for your prediction if possible.

Variables Independent - What the experimenter is changing or testing. Should be only one. Dependent - What is being measured. Can have more than one as long as question is answered.

Variables cont. Confounding - We don’t want these. Anything that might make your results unreliable. A thorough, detailed procedure helps a lot. Constants - Conditions of the experiment that remain the same.

Materials Should all be collected prior to starting experiment. Should be in a detailed list which is bulleted or numbered.

Trials Experiments need more than 2 trials for each condition tested. Should be an odd number. The more the better. Control trials always a plus!

Procedure Step-by-step list, which is numbered, on how the experiment will be completed. Steps for the first trial in each condition should be listed, subsequent trials should just be mentioned with “repeat steps”.

Data/Results Should be quantitative if at all possible. Observational data, while an interesting extra, is hard to make objective. Should be in a table and graphed. (we can help with this in class – no worries) Be careful when averaging data. May skew results.

Conclusion Should state whether hypothesis was proven or not. A disproven hypothesis does not mean it wasn’t a good project. Also state what could be done in a future experiment based on these results.

Don’t worry. You are not alone!!! Your child will conduct experiments in class in which all of these components are taught and discussed. Trust your child. If you have a question, feel free to email your child’s teacher.

Be bold. Be realistic. We want experiments that are out of the box. We do not want experiments that will potentially harm animals or people. We do not want experiments which mess up life for a month.

Judging Students will present their projects during school on March 15th. They will be judged by area science teachers, administrators, and 4H faculty. Ribbons will be rewarded based on judge scoring. GRES 5th grade teachers do not judge. Grades for projects are separate from ribbons.

Display 36” Display boards are the biggest we allow. Headers optional. Make sure your information is in a logical place on your board. Everything Typed...Spell check, spell check, spell check!!! Don’t overdo decor. Shouldn’t detract from the information. Glue: Less is More!!!

Further Information http://mrjohnsonsfifthgradeclass.weebly.com/science.html Missmetz.wix.com/y115 Ableidorn.wix.com/5thgrade For a survey students can take to find project topics*: www.sciencebuddies.org *Just be careful because a lot of those ideas are actually just demonstrations. ‘SCAMPER’ those to turn into experiments.

Have fun!!! Enjoy this time you have to work on a meaningful scientific endeavor with your child. It can be a very rewarding experience. Thanks for coming!!!

What needs to be done still? The items with a circled checkmark can be done in class, with class time each day available for students to complete them