How to Make a Science Board

Key Information For your science project, you need to prepare a display board to communicate your work to others. You will use a standard, three-panel display board that unfolds to be 36" tall by 48" wide.

Board Layout Organize your information like a newspaper so that your audience can quickly follow the thread of your experiment by reading from top to bottom, then left to right. Include each step of your science project: Abstract, question, hypothesis, variables, background research, and so on.

Board Layout

Display Board Use a font size of at least 16 points for the text on your display board, so that it is easy to read from a few feet away. It's OK to use slightly smaller fonts for captions on picture and tables. The title should be big and easily read from across the room. Choose one that accurately describes your work, but also grabs peoples' attention.

Display Board A picture speaks a thousand words! Use photos or draw diagrams to present non-numerical data, to propose models that explain your results, or just to show your experimental setup. Don't put text on top of photographs or images. It can be very difficult to read.

Display Board Here is a list of items that need to be included on your science board: Your name on the display board Pictures of yourself Captions that include the source for every picture or image Acknowledgements of people who helped you Equipment such as your laboratory apparatus or your invention

Materials and Construction Techniques Print out or write your information on white paper that you will attach to your display board. Be sure to proofread each sheet before you attach it. Glue sticks (use plenty) work well for attaching sheets of paper to your display board. Use double-sided tape for items like photographs that may not stick to glue.

Materials and Construction Techniques Instead of regular paper, use cover stock or card stock. These heavier papers will wrinkle less when you attach it to your display board, especially if you use a glue stick. Matte paper is preferable to glossy because it won't show as much glare— glare makes your display board difficult to read. Use color construction paper to add accents to your display board. A common technique is to put sheets of construction paper behind the white paper containing your text.

Student’s Final Checklist Did you remember to.. Include every required category (Hypothesis, Procedure, Materials, etc.)? Label every chart, graph and illustration? Provide a caption for every photograph? Proofread every word on your display board? Twice??

Student’s Final Checklist Ask yourself... Is the type large enough to read from afar? Stand 3 feet away to check. Are lines straight? Are text blocks and graphics properly aligned? (You can re-do a section by covering mistakes with matching colored paper and pasting new text and graphics over that. This time use a ruler!) Does the display look overly crowded with information? If so, consider removing some less important items and displaying them creatively on the table instead.

Student’s Final Checklist Ask yourself... Are there any empty spaces on the board? If your layout looks uneven, consider adding some items to balance it out.

What is required?

Title The title of your project. Your name.

Data and Graphics Present any significant data, graphs, and pictures in this section. Visual representations of your results, if done effectively, are worth thousands of words.

Problem/ Purpose State the problem that you were originally concerned with and explain why you selected the topic you did?

Hypothesis State your hypothesis. DO NOT write a prediction statement. Your hypothesis should NOT be in an If…then format.

Procedures State the procedures you followed. What experiments did you perform and why?

Results What did you find out from your data? Explain the results here.

Conclusions Was your hypothesis right or wrong? Can you make a new statement that you know to be true based on your research?

Recommendations From everything you learned would you make any recommendations for further research? Write your ideas for research in this section What other hypotheses could you conduct an experiment on based on your current experiment?

Abstract An abstract is a brief overview of your project work. It should include the title, your name, and brief summaries of the problem, hypothesis, procedures, data and conclusions. It should be no more than one typed page with 1 or 2 paragraphs.