Science Fair Information

The purpose of the Science Fair is to offer students the opportunity to think deeply about science as it applies to everyday life.

Dates Lake Norman Elementary Science Fair - Kindergarten-5th grade - Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - Lake Norman Elementary Iredell-Statesville Schools District Science Fair - 3rd-5th grade only Thursday, January 19, 2012 Third Creek Elementary Regional Science Fair Saturday, February 18, 2012 Wilkes County

This website will provide you all of the necessary information for completing a Science Fair Project in North Carolina. www.ncsciencefair.org Reference this site for… How to do a Science Fair Project. Downloading the Forms Needed. Following the Rules for doing a Project.

Steps in Developing a Science Fair Project Decide on a topic Plan steps in project Conduct some research about your topic Investigate and collect data Create a display with write-ups and graphics Practice talking about your project

Suggested Timeline 7 Weeks Prior to Fair Turn in your Science Fair Parent/Student Contract. Choose a topic to investigate or explore/form a hypothesis. Make a list of resources (school library, people to interview, community library) Select necessary reading material Begin preliminary investigations Begin to log in your journal and plan for data collection Continue to research Finalize research question. Ask your teacher to provide feedback to your research question. Set up an experimental design. 6 Weeks Prior to Fair Continue to research and collect data Continue to log in your journal Develop your formal hypothesis Read materials an other necessary resources 5 Weeks Prior to Fair Begin setting up your experiment or demonstration Continue adding information to project notebook Work on photographs or illustrations for the display Continue recording observations in your journal/log book 4 Weeks Prior to Fair Decide how to set-up your display unit/materials needed. Take photographs. Set-up outline for written final report. Work on first draft of written report 3 Weeks Prior to Fair Start assembling your display unit. Take photographs. Continue recording observations and notes in your journal/log book. Check books, pamphlets, magazines for additional ideas. Verify information with experts (teachers, parents, professors, scientists). Collect materials for display board. 2 Weeks Prior to Fair Begin designing charts, graphs, and/or photographs for the display unit Complete experiment or collection. Complete journal/log book Take final photographs and have them developed. Write second draft of the final report Record final o0bservations on any experiment. Prepare signs, titles, letters and labels for display unit Consult with any experts 1 Week Prior to Fair Complete graphs, charts, and photos. Finish construction your display board. Type or print final draft of written report. Mount graphs, charts, drawings, photographs, and lettering. Assemble components of the display Proofread your written report Set up the display at home and check for any problems. Check, double-check, and triple-check everything! Decide how you are going to get your project home.

Project Guidelines (These guidelines are set by the Regional and State Science Fairs) Projects should be the student’s own work. Parents should be a guide to encourage and offer ideas or materials. Find help for your project in the library or on the internet. Please practice school internet safety guidelines while researching at school or home. Be sure your topic is not too broad, such as “motors” or “plants”. The project should be specific and something you can observe, compare, and experiment. These are not considered projects, rather models and will NOT be judged: Experiments on live animals Models of Volcanoes Dinosaurs Electromagnets Light Blub Circuits The Solar System Tornado Bottles Your display should include the following steps of the Scientific Method. Purpose/Question Research- documented in bibliographic form Hypothesis Procedure Observation Conclusions Research Paper Students will be required to complete a short interview with the judges that will cover questions about their experiment. These questions are not predetermined and will be a result of any questions the judge may have after reviewing the project display board. Interviews will not be judged separately, but will be taken into consideration as judges score all areas of the project. Projects MUST be displayed on a “Project Display Board”. The boards MUST NOT have participants name or picture on FRONT of board. Projects will be judged based on a rubric. All projects will be given a total score. Awards will be given in order or points earned, greatest to least. Top three places will move on to the Regional Science Fair.

Questions: Contact Bethany Orr bethanyorr@iss.k12.nc.us