Freehold Township District Science Fair 2014 Powered by PaPAC Helping with Science Fair Projects

Welcome & Thank You

AGENDA Parent/Student Partners Types of Science Projects Scientific Method How to choose a Project Requirements/Safety & More

Parents as Partners for Science

Types of Science Projects MODEL or DISPLAY – Shows how something works in the real world but doesn’t test anything… AN EXPERIMENT Project shows testing has been done, collects data to answer a question

Make an observation Ask a question Hypothesis Experiment Analyze results Conclusion Report results I wonder what kind of paper would make a paper airplane fly the farthest I like flying paper airplanes If I make a paper airplane out of construction paper, than it will fly farther than an airplane made from printer paper Scientific Method

LIFE SCIENCE – Animal, Plant & Human Body Will frozen seeds sprout? Does the color of light effect plant growth? How do fingerprints differ? Do all people have the same normal body temperature? PHYSICAL SCIENCE – Matter, Structure, Light, Sound, Magnetism What is the best shape for a kite? Does sound travel better through solid, liquid or gas?, How does the design of a paper airplane affect its flight? EARTH & SPACE – Weather, Geology Does the moon rise every night at the same time and in the same location of the sky? From which direction does the wind blow most frequently? Is rainwater absorbed at the same rate in different kinds of soil? BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE – Consumer Science, Learning, Animal /Human Behavior What brand of popcorn pops the fastest? Does noise effect how well you can memorize things? Is there a day of the week that students are absent more? Do boys like math more than girls? Optical Illusions? How Should My Child Select a Topic?: Categories

How to select a Topic 0 Topic should be something that interests the student 0 There is a list of possible topics in the Science Fair Packet. 0 In addition, explore the internet and go to library. Your child can find many ideas on websites and in books. 0 Experiment that is chosen must be one that numeric data is able to be collected.

Prohibited Items 0 The following items can not be used in science fair : Bacteria or Mold Cigarettes, cigarette smoke, or other tobacco products Alcohol (including wine) Household bleach, dry ice, liquid nitrogen Medicine (over the counter & prescription) Science Lab chemicals

Display Information 0 When taking pictures only take pictures of the experiment – You should not be able to identify the student in the photo. 0 Nothing can sit in front the board (ex. Plants from the experiment) Everything you want to include must be attached to the board. 0 The students name cannot be on the front. Put the name on the back.

Display Examples

Parents: How To Help Project StepHelping at the Right Level:Going to Far: Ask a question Discussing with your child if a topic seems practical Picking an idea and a project for your child: a topic that is not of interest for your child will be boring. Background research Taking your child to the library Helping your child think of keywords for internet searches Doing an internet search and printing it out for your child. Construct a hypothesis Asking how the hypothesis relates to an experiment the child can do Writing the hypothesis yourself Test the hypothesis/ experiment Assisting in finding materials Monitoring safety Writing the experimental procedure Doing the experiment, except for potential unsafe steps Telling you child step-by-step what to do. Analyze data and draw a conclusion Asking how your child will record the data in a data table Reminding your child to tie the data back to the hypothesis and draw a conclusion Creating a spreadsheet and making the graphs yourself, even if your child helps type in values Announcing the conclusion yourself Communicate your results Act as an audience when presenting the project Helping bring the display board to school Writing any of the text on the display board Determining the color scheme and other graphic elements Information collected from the website

Scoring Projects

Make an observation Ask a Question Hypothesis Experiment Analyze results Conclusion Report results Letter of Intent Due Topic/Proposal Form Due Mentor Session Topic Generating Session Mentor Session Science Fair

Need Additional Help? Ask a Scientist/Mentor:

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