Woodmoor Science Fair Guidelines
Welcome to the Woodmoor Science Fair! Hopefully you’re excited and revved up to begin. Here is what to do:
- Do some science at home! Work with your parents or other trusted adult to make a plan and carry it through. Once you’ve done that, use this posterboard to tell us what you’ve learned. You only get one, so be careful with it.
- Please bring your posterboard to school no later than March 25th. During the school day, students will present their projects to the class. After school, the boards will be moved to the gym for the Science Fair.
- Family and friends are invited to come to the Woodmoor Science Fair on Friday,March 25th from 6 - 8 pm in the gym. There will also be a Science Show, where students can talk about their science project, held in the activity room. Please take your projects home at the end of the evening.
What makes a successful project? First, pick a question or topic that is really interesting to YOU! Second, follow the scientific method when doing your project (see next page). Third, do your best work while having FUN!
Below are a few example questions to fire your creativity. Be sure to check out the WoodmoorScience Fair Headquarters tab on the PTSA website ( for more questions and tips for doing your experiment and creating your poster.
Need more ideas? Head to the library—Woodmoor, Kingsgate, Bothell, Woodinville.
Tips for choosing a good science fair project:
- The topic or question is interesting to me.
- My question can be answered by doing an experiment and making observations.
- My question is open ended (cannot be answered by yes or no).
- I can do most of the work myself in the time I have.
- My exploration will not damage property (or harm anyone ).
- I can get all the materials I need easily (no electron microscope or Hubble telescope needed).
A Few Question Ideas:
- What kind of soda makes the most foam in a float?
- What hot wheels car gets to the bottom of the slide first?
- How does barometric pressure relate to rainfall?
- What cereal gets soggy fastest?
- How much salt does it take to float an egg (try different salts)?
- How can you change the color of a white flower?
- What kind of ball bounces the highest?
- Does the shape of an ice cube affect how quickly it melts?
Take a look around—there are questions surrounding you begging for an answer!
Most importantly, Have Fun with Your Explorations!
How to run your experiment using the scientific method
The scientific method is a way to ask and answer scientific questions by making observations and doing experiments.
The steps of the scientific method are to:
- Ask a Question
- Do Background Research
- Construct a Hypothesis
- (A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work.)
- Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
- (Collect data by writing down what you did and what happened.)
- Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
- Communicate Your Results
It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. A "fair test" occurs when you change only one factor (variable) and keep all other conditions the same.
Creating your Poster
When it comes time to communicate your results, you’ll use this posterboard. Here are some general guidelines for making an eye-catching report.
- Use some color.
- Put your question (like a title) centered at the top of your board. Don’t forget your name!
- Let pictures, drawings and graphs tell the story.
- Put your data (picture, drawing, or graph) smack in the middle.
- Use the left side of your board to tell us about your materials and methods (the way you conducted your experiment).
- Use the right side of your board to tell us what conclusions you made. Tell us about the books or websites you researched. Is there something else you’d like to try?—tell us!
- Write your words in big letters. People have to read this from a distance.
- Your science experiment is a story like any other: give it a beginning, middle and end.
- Most importantly, this is your work. Use your individual style and creativity to make your poster as cool as you are!