Gibson Elementary Science Fair

Gibson Elementary Science Fair

Dear Gibson Parent,

Our school will be having a Science Fair! We hope that with your enthusiastic encouragement, your student will participate in the fair by preparing a project. This will be an exciting experience for your child! Although students receive help at school from teachers, parent support and assistance are essential to your child’s success. A general rule of thumb to go by is:

• 4th and 5th graders should be doing almost the entire science project by themselves.

• 2nd and 3rd graders should be able to do many parts.

• Kindergarteners and 1st graders will need help for most of the project.

Projects are required for 4th and 5th grade.

We are confident the following benefits will result from your child’s participation:

Reinforcement of grade level science, literacy and math skills

Fostering curiosity, awareness, and creativity

Increased scientific knowledge

Learning research techniques

Growth in ability to work independently

Having fun with science!

You will find detailed resources and planning guides to assist you on our school website at: wsfcsel.schoolwires.net/ges .

Project Checklist

□ Choose a topic and develop a plan. Determine the question you will ask in the experiment.

□ Formulate a hypothesis (Make a prediction – What do you think will happen?)

□ Do background research (use print or on-line resources)

□ Complete the Science Fair Application. Return the application to your teacher by December 3rd, 2012.

□ Make a list of materials you will need and decide on a step-by-step process to perform your experiment.

□ As you perform your experiment, collect data and take pictures.

□ Write about your project and record your results. (A good way to record your data is to design a chart or graph.)

□ Present your finished project on a science display board.

□ Invite your family to the Science Extravaganza

□ Bring your project to school on January 3, 2013.

Feel free to contact me with any questions,

Raphael E. Green

Curriculum Coordinator (3-5)

336-922-6612

Steps to Complete an Excellent Project

Your Project Should:

·  Be an original experiment

·  Ask a question that can be “tested” to find the answer.

·  Be displayed on a project board. ( They can be found at Wal-Mart, Target, The Dollar Store and all office supply locations)

·  Follow the Scientific Method – explained below

First: Choose A Science Category that interests you.

Sample Project Ideas

·  Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like them?

·  Do weed killers affect house plants?

·  Does music have an affect on plant growth?

·  What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting?

·  Can the food we eat affect our heart rate?

·  Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate?

·  Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they grow?

·  Does the color of a room affect human behavior?

·  What brand of battery lasts the longest?

·  Does the type of potting soil used in planting affect how fast the plant grows?

·  Does the color of birdseed affect how much birds will eat it?

·  What is the effect of salt on the boiling temperature of water?

·  Does shoe design really affect an athlete's jumping height?

·  What type of grass seed grows the fastest?

Second: Follow the Steps in the Scientific Method

Step 2: Do the research and form a hypothesis or “smart guess”.

So how do you begin? Well, just answer this very simple question:

What do you think will happen, (even before you start your experiment)?

Example Problem: Which Paper Towel is more absorbent?

Example Hypothesis: I think Brand X will be more absorbent because it’s a more popular brand, it is thicker and the people I interviewed said that the more expensive brands would work better. (This hypothesis not only predicts what will happen in the experiment, but also shows that the “Scientist” used research to back up this prediction.)

Step 3: Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment

Gather Materials

Write a Procedure

Identify Your Variables

Perform the Experiment

Collect your Data

Write a Conclusion

Write about how this experiment can be used in a real life situation.

Step 4: Display your information on a project board.

Tips for Creating an Outstanding Display

·  BE NEAT- Avoid ripped edges of paper, glue globs, cross outs, and white out.

·  USE COLORS TO ATTRACT ATTENTION BUT DON’T OVER DO IT

·  FRAME OR MATTE YOUR WORK-Use construction paper or other colored materials to provide a background for your written work and labels.

·  TITLES SHOULD BE SHORT, CATCHY AND RELATED TO THE PROJECT IDEA

For example:

Sizing Up Seeds is better than The Relationship between the Size of the Seed and the Size of the Plant

·  WRITING SHOULD BE NEAT AND LEGIBLE

·  SPELLING DOES COUNT

·  PRACTICE YOUR LAYOUT- Before you begin gluing things down, practice moving the parts of the display around until they are evenly spaced and centered.

·  TAKE PHOTOS OR DRAW PICTURES/DIAGRAMS OF THE ITEMS FOR DISPLAY- This will help you to avoid attaching materials from your experiment to your display.

·  RESEARCH REPORTS SHOULD BE PLACED IN FRONT OF THE DISPLAY

Some useful links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_project

http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral

http://www.ipl.org/youth/projectguide/

http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/sciencefairs/

http://www.sciencebob.com/research/index.php

http://sciencefairproject.virtualave.net/

www.rossarts.org/naples/ideas.htm

http://www.tfsd.k12.id.us/pe/ScienceFairGuide12.pd