1. SCIENCE FAIR PROJECTS: THINGS A JUDGE CONSIDERS
Dorothy Tepper
Workshop #4
11/5/14

2. Poster Sessions at Scientific Conferences
Some scientists prefer poster sessions over speaking to a large audience in a formal session
Often limited time and space are available for poster sessions so getting accepted is competitive

3. Poster Sessions, cont’d.
Provides informal opportunity to share and discuss work with colleagues
Can exchange ideas freely
Time available to discuss things at length

4. Title of Project
Can I fairly quickly figure out what the project is about by looking at the title?
Title should be descriptive but not overwhelming and full of technical jargon

5. Abstracts Very important part of poster is viewer interested or not?
200-word contest to get people to look at your poster
Should be carefully written
Write it as if the rest of the poster isn’t there (it should stand alone)
Precise, scientifically sound

6. Abstracts, cont’d. Put the “news” at the beginning: Problem Hypothesis
Summarize methods used – what you did to test hypothesis
Focus rest of abstract on results and conclusions

7. Characteristics of a Good Poster
Good science clearly presented
Uncluttered
Colorful design
Brief and legible text

8. Good Posters, cont’d. Keep it as simple as possible
Present only enough data to support conclusions
Leave out unnecessary details
Well organized, flows well

9. TITLE (with flow shown by numbers)1. 3 4 5 2. 6

10. TITLE (with flow shown by arrows)

11. Scientific Method

12. 3-Minute “Elevator Speech”
Students should practice this speech to the point that they are comfortable giving it.
During this speech, students should basically guide the judge through their poster, emphasizing the important points.

13. 3-Minute Elevator Speech, cont’d.
The student should show good understanding of the scientific method and scientific principles involved with their project.
The end result should be that the judge has a good overall understanding of what the project is about.

14. Students Should Try to Anticipate Questions the Judges Might Ask
Why did you choose this topic?
What was your hypothesis?
How did you do your background research and what were your main sources of information?

15. Judges’ Questions, cont’d.
If you could do your project over again, what would you do differently?
How did you test the statistical significance of your results?
How many times was the experiment repeated?

16. Judges’ Questions, cont’d.
Did you have a large enough data set on which to base your conclusions?
What variable(s) did you keep constant and what variable did you change?
If you had a mentor, how did your mentor assist you?
How much did your parents help you with this project?

17. Judges’ Questions, cont’d.
What was the cost of the materials you used?
How did your results relate to your hypothesis?
What are the limitations of your project?
What’s the most important thing you learned from your project?

18. Tips for Students Be enthusiastic about your project
Look at the science fair as an opportunity to present your project to professional scientists and professors and to get feedback from them
Dress neatly and make a good first impression
Don’t chew gum!
Turn your cell phone off!

19. Examples of Judging Forms (Rubrics)
Frisco ISD Middle School Science Fair,
Long Island Science and Engineering Fair, 2014