St. Mary’s Catholic School Science Fair Student Kickoff – 7 th and 8 th grade

St. Mary’s Science Fair Resources you can call on  Teachers (Mrs. Cwalina, Mrs. Voelker & Mrs. Genth)  Science Fair Coordinators Mr. & Mrs. Grossbauer : ( / )  Parents  Guidebook Take some time to read through it now, refer to it later

St. Mary’s Science Fair Calendar GB pg-3  Research plans dueOctober 26, 2012  Projects DueJanuary 16, 2013  SMS Science FairJanuary 17, 2013

St. Mary’s Science Fair What does it mean to go to Montco Fair?  After our science fair is complete, we will be selecting a handful of projects to compete at the Montgomery County Science Research Competition (MCSRC)  The MCSRC works very similar to ours Judges review the project Judges perform an oral interview of the scientist  MCSRC is held March 21 st – 24 th DVSF Fair is April 2 nd – April 4 th

St. Mary’s Science Fair Certain kinds of experiments require approval from the MCSRC Science Committee before you are allowed to start  Any experiment that involves animals or humans This includes any experiment that involves surveys We are asking that NO projects involve ingestion – eating or drinking of anything  Done for safety reasons

St. Mary’s Science Fair There are a forms to be filled out (GB pg-9) When you submit your research plan, there are a couple of forms (simple!) for you to complete and submit  Your package will include a Research plan, Form 1A & 1B  Anything involving humans needs Form 4 too Depending upon your particular project, there may be other forms required; we will contact you if needed All forms are on the SMS Website There are some instructions in the guidebook, if you have any questions on the forms, just ask.

St. Mary’s Science Fair Focus Areas…

St. Mary’s Science Fair Research Plans  Each student must submit a typed research plan (GB pg 8) Describes the experiment, the hypothesis being made along with the description of the experimental procedure Should include a bibliography of the resources used for researching the subject  Research plans must be approved by the teacher and science fair coordinator You will receive a feedback form approving or rejecting your experiment, along with some suggestions (GB pg 10) You can update it as the experiment progresses

Example Research Plan

St. Mary’s Science Fair Spend time doing research  Books, Magazines, Internet sources, Experts  The more you know and understand the subject, the better you will be able to conduct the experiment, and then to be able to communicate it with others  Judges are looking for you to have understood your subject  A bibliography with 1 source is not sufficient research; MCSRC is looking for at least 5 sources

St. Mary’s Science Fair Data Analysis  What’s the difference between Data and Information? Data raw facts no context just numbers and text Information data with context processed data value-added to data  summarized  organized  analyzed

Data vs. Information Data Information Data is raw material & unorganized facts that need to be processed When data are processed, organized, structured or presented in a given context so as to make them useful, they are called Information

Data  Information Data Information Summarizing the data Averaging the data Selecting part of the data Graphing the data Adding context Adding value

St. Mary’s Science Fair Display (GB pg-11)  Your display should show all the major parts of doing the project.  Make it look good ! This is not an art project, but the fact is, the first impression on the judges is the display. Make sure everything is spelled correctly! Purpose Hypothesis Procedure Project Title Data Tables Photos Graphs Abstract Bibliography Experimental Materials Journal Typical Display Setup Conclusion

St. Mary’s Science Fair Display restrictions (GB pg-12) Displays can be no wider than 36” and no taller than 48” Do NOT place your name or the school name on your display Not allowed on/with your display :  Living things, including plants  Food  Chemicals including water  Glass or glass objects Take pictures and display the pictures  Photographs of people other than yourself or your immediate family are not allowed; add a citation of who took the photos Use Metric units for all measurements and data

St. Mary’s Science Fair Final Reminder Notes Do research – many sources are available; you should have at least 5 Research plans need to be typed Return the required forms, including parent signatures No ingestion experiments please Keep a journal – record everything you do Change only one variable at a time Do a sufficient number of trials Units on your display must be in metric It’s OK if your hypothesis was wrong DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST WEEK TO WORK ON YOUR PROJECT!!

St. Mary’s Science Fair