1. Science Fair Information
No notes.
Courtesy of Science Buddies: Providing free science fair project ideas, answers, and tools for serious students. Visit us online at
April 7, 2008
Copyright ©2008 Kenneth Lafferty Hess Family Charitable Foundation. All rights reserved.

2. Introduction
Take this time to thank the parents for coming, introduce yourself, and briefly explain the history of science fairs in your school. Encourage parents to take notes on their outlines and to ask you any questions as you go along.

3. What is a science fair? A journey of scientific inquiry
Students answer a scientific question by conducting an experiment.
The process ends with a showcase event that shows students that their work matters to the school community.
If available, go ahead and provide parents with the date of the science fair and the date of the kickoff.

4. Others have said it best…
“Happy is he [or she] who gets to know the reasons for things.”
–Virgil, Roman poet
“[Science is] a great game. It is inspiring and refreshing. The playing field is the universe itself.”
–Isador Isaac Rabbi, U.S. physicist, Nobel Prize winner, 1944
If available, include any quotes from participants in past years about how they enjoyed the fair.

5. Student Benefits Inquiry and Experiential
This is their own learning adventure.
They might explore topics such as:
Timing ocean tides
How gears work
Chemistry of baking ingredients
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6. Student Benefits, continued
Integrates skills they’ve learned in other classes:
Math skills
Computer skills
Research skills
Writing and presentation skills
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7. Student Benefits, continued
Furthers students’ interest in science
Serves as a basis for future science fairs, which present opportunities for scholarships, awards, and prestige
Promotes interest in a science career
The school fair is the first step in the competitions that lead up to the international level, where prizes total over $3,000,000 and the top winners take home $50,000 scholarships. These competitions are for middle school and above. But even doing projects at the elementary level gets students ready to participate at these fairs later on.
Preparing a science fair project is an excellent example of what education experts call active learning or inquiry (also, hands-on learning). It is a very effective instructional method; indeed, it is recommended as a cornerstone of successful science teaching. Yet, according to the National Research Council, active learning is not employed often enough in the classroom and its absence is seen as one of the key factors behind kids losing interest in science and not performing to their potential.

8. Support and Partnership
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9. Project Planning
Our planning involves breaking the science project into small, manageable assignments that are spread out over time.
We will provide students with detailed guides to explain exactly what needs to be done at each step of the project.
No notes.

10. Partnership Students Work Responsibility Science Fair Success Parents
If students don’t create their own learning experience, it defeats the purpose of the active inquiry.
Science Fair Success
Parents
Encourage
Answer questions
Supervise safety
Come to the fair!
Teachers
Step-by-step assignments
Checkpoints graded along the way

11. Partnership, continued
Students
Work
Responsibility
Parents
Encourage
Answer questions
Supervise safety
Come to the fair!
Although most work is done at home, steps will be explained and graded in class. By breaking down the work into small manageable chunks, teachers and parents will have checkpoints to make sure the students are headed in the right direction. Having key steps and milestones will help students with the time-management portion of the project.
Science Fair Success
Teachers
Step-by-step assignments
Checkpoints graded along the way

12. Partnership, continued
Students
Work
Responsibility
We will provide you with a guide to help you support your child. This guide will give you tips and information about how to get involved with your child’s project, while ensuring they get the most out of the learning experience.
Science Fair Success
Parents
Encourage
Answer questions
Supervise safety
Come to the fair!
Teachers
Step-by-step assignments
Checkpoints graded along the way

13. What do the students need to do?
No notes.

14. Overview 6 Science Fair Project Steps Ask a question.
Do background research.
Construct a hypothesis.
Test the hypothesis by doing an experiment.
Analyze the data and draw a conclusion.
Communicate the results.
Elementary school students, depending on age or skill-set, may or may not do background research.

15. Ask a question. This is the foundation.
If your child identifies a question that is safe and can be answered through experimentation, the rest of the project will follow.
Avoiding the shaky foundation: at this point, each student will fill out a project proposal, which is a rough map of where they plan to head. It is critical for me to evaluate each one so that the students can re-do their questions at this point, if it they are not practical or not safe.

16. Ask a question, continued
Safety
This will be reviewed by the teacher when your child fills out a project proposal form.
The philosophy of safety: It is not a list of prohibited projects. Instead, it is a careful review by the teacher.
Some tools and techniques that might be considered very safe can become unsafe without supervision and a careful experimental procedure. Some potentially dangerous materials can be perfectly safe with the right supervision and right experimental procedure.
Teachers will evaluate safety on a case-by-case basis. If you, as a parent, have any expertise in supervising certain tools or techniques, then by all means, help your child to note this on the proposal form. With your supervision, the child will then likely be able to do the project.

17. Ask a question, continued
How to Pick a Good Question
The question should be interesting enough for your child to read about and then work on for the next couple months.
There should be at least three sources of written information on the subject.
Make sure the experiment is safe to perform.
Ensure there is enough time to do the experiment before the science fair. For example, most plants take weeks to grow. If your child is doing a project on plants, he or she will need to start early.
Visit for more helpful tips.
No notes.

18. Ask a question, continued
Here’s a helpful resource to find a great project idea.
Visit the Science Buddies website at
to utilize these tools:
The Topic Selection Wizard This brief online survey recommends project ideas that are best for your child, based on his or her interests.
Project Ideas Pick from a huge selection of project ideas, organized by difficulty level, and featuring safety guidelines, materials lists, and required time for each project.
The Topic Selection Wizard step will occur during class.

19. Do background research.
Collect information.
Define what to look for.
Look in a variety of sources.
Key Goal: Obtain enough information to make a prediction of what will happen in the experiment.
We will give students a worksheet to help them collect information. For example, one of the tables on the worksheet will help them brainstorm possible questions. Then students are asked to go through and pick the most relevant ones.

20. Do background research, continued
Organize research.
With organized research that is based on questions, the writing will flow.
Use multiple sources, no copying.
Writing should be focused on the project.
This is a key opportunity for the student to learn about ethics and how to avoid plagiarism.

21. Construct a hypothesis.
What is a hypothesis? An educated guess about the answer to a question.
If/then: If I do [this], then [this] will happen.
“If I increase the temperature of water in a cup, then the more sugar will dissolve.”
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22. Test the hypothesis by doing an experiment.
Process
Part 1: Design an experimental procedure.
Steps and materials should be spelled out.
Part 2: Do an experiment.
Actual testing of hypothesis occurs, answering the question.
No notes.

23. Do an experiment. Expectations
It’s ok if the first experiment goes wrong and your child has to modify the procedure.
It’s ok if the experiment disproves the hypothesis.
Safety, safety, safety!
It takes time!
No notes.

24. Analyze the data and draw a conclusion.
Example of a graph that draws a conclusion:
How wind generator power changes with wind speed. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60
Wind Speed (m/sec)
Power (kW)
The graph shows that the power a generator is able to produce increases by the cube of the wind speed.

25. Communicate results.
You can find this diagram and a lot of helpful information about display boards at
The display board tells a story from left to right, generally on three panels. It mimics the steps in the scientific method and is a combination of written material, as well as photos, charts, diagrams, and graphs.

26. Conclusion

27. Have fun! Have fun! Mention a clear next step.
The kickoff will be on [DATE]
Parents will receive an information packet with a letter, tips on how to support their child throughout the process, and a copy of the student assignment timeline.