Science Fair Projects
All “Honors” and “Advanced” science students are required to complete a science fair project; specific milestone dates are listed below. All other students may participate in the science fair activities; they must also meet the milestone dates below.
The schedule of turn-ins is designed so that all students will be finished with their respective projects before the Thanksgiving holiday break. Students will earn points as each milestone is met; late work will suffer penalties of 50%.
Culmination will be Bruner Middle School’s science fair on December 5, 2013. Winners of 1st place, 2nd place and honorable mention will be invited to participate in the District Science Fair.
The information in this packet is provided to help students get started with their science fair projects. Ideas for science fair projects may be found in the library, at local book stores and on the internet. Successful internet searches may begin by using your favorite search engine (e.g., Google, Ask Jeeves, Sciencebuddies.org/, etc.) and type in the key words, “Science Fair Projects”.
Projects which include any of the following categories are discouraged, and sometimes prohibited: a) human subjects (including surveys), b) controlled substances (alcohol, drugs, tobacco, smokeless or black powder), c) non-human vertebrate animals (dogs, cats, fish, etc), d) hazardous substances or devices (chemicals, high voltage, fire, lasers, etc), e) human and animal tissue (except animal tissue which is available from grocery stores), f) pathogenic agents/microbiology, g) archeology (State of Florida laws must be obeyed). Many of these categories require doctoral level qualified scientists to supervise all experimentation. They may also require that all experimentation be completed in a qualified laboratory setting.
If students choose a project that involves one or more of the above projects (a-g), written approval must be obtained via the appropriate School District or Bruner Middle School reviewing bodies. If approval isn’t obtained, the project will not be allowed to proceed. If the student continues without approval, participation at Bruner Middle School’s science fair and/or the Okaloosa District science fair will not be allowed.
Schedule of Events
Due Dates: 6 Sep 2013 –
a) Turn in your problem proposal, preliminary hypothesis and sources of information being used for your project (think bibliography); such as literature searches, personal interviews with professionals, internet, etc (20 points). Remember, good scientists review other peoples’ scientific efforts before planning their own experiments.
Choose a project that is easily measureable and appropriately challenging for an eighth grade student.
b) Your information sources must be in APA or MLA format. On-line
formatting for various types of research sources can be found at www.easybib.com.
c) Fill out and print Form 1, “Checklist for Adult Sponsor/Safety Assessment Form”; http://www.societyforscience.org/page.aspx?pid=282 is the site for finding the forms and documents. There must be an overall supervisor appointed, usually a parent or guardian, before you can begin any experimentation.
20 Sep 2013
a) Turn in your estimate of materials (quantity and description) (20 points). Be
sure to include specific details – how many, what size, what color, what shape, etc.
b) An excellent source of information for science fair success may be found at the Okaloosa Schools web site (www.okaloosaschools.com/):
Select “Departments”, Select “Science Central”, Select “Science Fair”, Select “Science Fair Initiative”.
The “Science Central” page also includes a link to the International Science and Engineering information (including access to forms).
http://www.societyforscience.org/isef will take you to the overall information web site for the International Science and Engineering Fair.
Along with the required turn-in materials, include previously turned in materials and teacher written comments. This helps to ensure that appropriate progress is being made.
11 Oct 2013
a) Describe your procedures, materials, experimental design (test subject, control, variables), working hypothesis. (20 points)
b) Turn in a draft “Research Plan”, Form 1A, and “Approval Form”, Form 1B.
c) If your project includes potentially hazardous procedures – chemicals, cutting instruments, exploding objects, catapaults, fire, etc – you must include Form 3 (Hazardous Chemicals, Activities or Devices) [See examples at the end of this document]
d) [Also turn in your documentation, along with your science teacher written comments from all previous turn-ins]
8 Nov 2013
a) Turn in a draft abstract. After finishing research and experimentation, you must write an abstract of 250 words (maximum). The abstract should include a) purpose of your project, b) procedures used, c) data, and d) conclusions.
b) An abstract should not include a) acknowledgements or b) work/procedures
done by the mentor (20 points). You may refer to http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_abstract.shtml for abstract examples.
c) [Also turn in your documentation, along with your science teacher written comments from all previous turn-ins]
19 Nov 2013
a) Plan to turn projects in approximately one week in advance to allow for teacher review and evaluation. A helpful website for preparing display boards is www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_display_board.shtml.
b) [Also turn in your documentation, along with your science teacher written comments from all previous turn-ins]
5 Dec 2013
Display projects at Bruner Middle School Science Fair (20 points). The
primary emphasis is to understand the scientific process, project planning, scheduling and meeting deliverable dates.
Science Fair Information -- Where to Begin …
Introduction
The primary goal of the Bruner Middle School Science Department is to assist our science students in becoming scientifically literate. Achieving this goal will require you to ask questions, research, become aware of current events in the sciences and THINK.
One of the most effective tools you will use when evaluating information or events is the Scientific Method, an organized approach to solving a problem. In science, the term “problem” refers to a question for which you want to find an answer. An effective means of learning the scientific method is through the completion of a science project.
The goal of your science project isn’t competition among students, but rather learning how to appropriately apply the scientific method. Our goal with the Science Fair is to recognize student achievement in research, experimental design, and proper presentation of a project.
This pamphlet has been prepared to assist you in completion of all aspects of a science project. Please refer to this information throughout the time you are working on your project to ensure completeness and meeting all deadlines.
Solving a problem according to the scientific method requires following certain logical steps:
1. Define the problem
2. Research
3. Form the hypothesis
4. Experiment
5. Observe and record data
6. Form a conclusion
Define the problem – Once a science fair project has been assigned, the most frequently asked student question is, “What should I do?” Out of the realm of the physical, biological and earth sciences, the goal is to match your interests with an appropriate problem. Your project must be within one of the following categories:
Behavioral and Social Sciences Biochemistry Botany
Earth and Space Chemistry Computer
Engineering Environmental Physics
Mathematics
The problem you decide upon is actually a question to be answered. Therefore, the problem must always be written as a question. Be sure to have your teacher’s approval BEFORE proceeding with your project.
Research - “Ask” and “Wikipedia” aren’t acceptable resources for research. All research materials must be listed in MLA or APA format. (ScienceBuddies.com and Citationmachine.net are good formatting sources.) As a general rule, sources are cited alphabetically, beginning with the author’s last name. Internet resources, if the author isn’t identified, are alphabetical by the article title. If there are no resources available, then choose another project.
The Process of Science and Research
(This information is taken from the University of Florida website, www.cpet.ufl.edu/sciproj/sci007.htm)
Research is the process by which people create new knowledge about themselves or the world in which the live in order to answer a question or solve a problem. When choosing your topic, give careful thought to how your research might enhance the world and its inhabitants. Questioning is probably the most important part of scientific creativity and is often followed by an “if…then” statement. Questioning usually leads to experiments or observations.
Good scientists, both young and old, use a process to study what they see in the world. By following the six stages listed below, you should be able to produce a superior scientific experiment:
1. Be curious, choose a limited subject, ask a question; identify or originate/define a problem.
2. Review published materials related to your problem or question.
3. Evaluate possible solutions and make your educated guess (hypothesis).
4. Challenge and test your hypothesis through experimentation (data collection) and analysis.
5. Evaluate the results of your experiment and reach conclusions based on your data.
6. Prepare your report and exhibit.
You should learn to be skeptical of all research results, especially your own. A good experiment may or may not answer the questions you asked, but almost always leads to new questions requiring new experiments or observations. The final hypothesis is often developed after one has run a number of preliminary experiments, analyzed a body of results, and reached a tentative conclusion.
Science Fair Categories
BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES - Human and animal behavior, social and community relationships
BIOCHEMISTRY - The chemistry of life processes – molecular biology, molecular genetics, enzymes, photosynthesis, blood chemistry, food chemistry, hormones, etc
BOTANY - The study of plant life – agriculture, agronomy, horticulture, forestry, plant taxonomy, plant physiology, plant pathology, plant genetics, hydroponics, etc
CHEMISTRY – The study of nature and composition of matter and laws governing it - Analytical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Plastics, Fuels, General Chemistry
COMPUTER SCIENCE – The study and development of computer software and hardware and associated logical devices - Algorithms, Data Bases; Artificial Intelligence, Networking and Communications, Computational Science, Computer Graphics, Software Engineering, Programming Languages, Computer System, Operating System
EARTH SCIENCE - Climatology, Weather; Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Paleontology, Geophysics, Planetary Science, Tectonics Geology, Oceanography, Astronomy, Seismology
ENGINEERING: Materials and Bioengineering – Technology projects that directly apply scientific principles to manufacturing and practical uses - Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, Construction Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Processing, Materials Science
ENGINEERING: Electrical & Mechanical - Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Controls. Mechanical Engineering, Thermodynamics, Solar, Robotics
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES – The study of pollution (air, water, and land) sources and their control; ecology
MATHEMATICS – The development of formal logical systems or various numerical and algebraic computations, and the application of these principles - Algebra, Analysis, Applied Mathematics, Geometry, Probability & Statistics
MEDICINE & HEALTH SCIENCES – The study of diseases and health of humans and animals – Dentistry, Pharmacology, pathology, ophthalmology, nutrition, sanitation, pediatrics, dermatology, allergies, speech and hearing
MICROBIOLOGY – The biology of microorganisms - Antibiotics, Antimicrobials, Bacteriology, Microbial Genetics, Virology, etc
PHYSICS – The theoretics, principles, and laws governing energy and the effect of energy on matter – Atoms, Molecules, Solids; Biological Physics, Instrumentation and Electronics, Magnetics and Electromagnetics, Nuclear and Particle Physics; Optics, Lasers, Masers; Theoretical Physics, Theoretical or Computational Astronomy
SPACE SCIENCE – Astronomy, planetary science, etc
ZOOLOGY – The study of animals – Animal Genetics, Ornithology, Ichthyology, Herpetology, Entomology, Animal ecology, etc
Science Fair Information – Where to Begin
Go to the Okaloosa Schools website; Select “Departments”; Scroll to the bottom, and Select “Science Central”; Select “Science Fair”
The “Elementary Science fair Project Guide” is a nice guide for the students.
“Science Buddies” (www.sciencebuddies.org/) is also a good place to begin looking for science fair ideas.
www.societyforscience.org/isef/ leads to the International Science and Engineering Fair information. It contains lots of helpful information for students, parents and teachers.
Frequently asked questions and answers about science fair are found in the section titled “International Rules and Guidelines FAQ”
The “Intel ISEF Rules Wizard” asks a series of questions about a specific project and provides a list of science fair forms needed for the project. http://apps.societyforscience.org/isef/students/wizard/index.asp
All forms must be signed in blue ink.
The Okaloosa School District Scientific Review Committee (SRC) or the Bruner Middle School Institutional Review Board (IRB) must review all projects that require Form 3 (Hazards) documentation. Hazards may include any tools being used, flame, chemicals, vertebrate animals, paint ball guns, saws, knives, blenders, catapults, studies in or around water (drowning hazard), etc. For example, if fire is being used, is there a squirt bottle or fire extinguisher immediately available and is there proof that the people working around the fire know how to use the fire extinguisher. The primary concern with science fair projects is always safety first. SRC/IRB review will occur relatively early in the science fair projects process since no testing may begin before the project is approved.
Any projects requiring SRC or IRB review and approval may not begin testing until all forms are properly completed. As long as the proposed projects are low risk to the subjects being surveyed/studied, we can review and approve via the Bruner Middle School IRB (Administrator, science teacher, school psychologist). Students may not begin their projects until approval is attained.
Informed Consent
Everyone that is participating in a science fair experiment as a test subject, and is under age 18 must have their parents/guardians sign an informed consent form.
1) The process of obtaining informed consent includes providing information to the subject about the risks and benefits associated with participation in the research study. Informed consent also allows the subject to make an informed decision about whether or not to participate. Informed consent is an on-going process, not a single event that ends with a signature on a page. Informed consent must not involve coercion or deception.