Unleash Your Imagination!

UNLEASH YOUR IMAGINATION!

Tanque Verde Elementary School

Science Fair Handbook

for the SCIENTIFIC PROCESS

K-3

A brief guide for Students, Parents, and Teachers

Science Project Due Date Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015

Date of TVES Science Fair Monday, Feb. 16, 2015

SARSEF Dates March 9-13, 2015

Name ______

Each Arizona elementary school is allowed 12 entries to continue on to the Regional Science Fair. Go to for complete details, information, sample projects and scientific website links.

Science Fair Projects

Objectives of an elementary school science fair:

To stimulate student interest in science and mathematics.

To enrich students' education with experience in direct scientific research.

To recognize the hard work of students who complete their projects.

To provide the opportunity for students to share what they have learned.

The science teacher and mentor’s role:

Motivate and communicate with students and parents.

Advise, support and nourish creativity.

Suggest resources and arrange for supplies and equipment.

Record student entries and organize the school science fair.

The parent’s role:

Became familiar with the Scientific Method

Ask clarifying questions and provide ongoing interest.

Help locate resources, supplies and provide transportation.

Provide a suitable and safe workspace.

Parents of younger students can write/type for them as they dictate.

Be a cheerleader and definitely go to the fair!

All parents are welcome to serve as mentors.

Remember that the most important outcome of your child’s science project is the joy and learning that comes from science DISCOVERY together!

TIPS FOR STUDENTS:

It is okay for parents of K-3 students to guide you while you conduct research and record information, especially for younger students. Allow time for K-1 students to copy sentences wherever possible.

Select a topic that interests you: favorite hobbies, games, toys, books, outdoor activity, animals, insects, or sports.

Ask questions when investigating the world around you.

Keep a SCIENCE PROJECT JOURNAL from the very beginning of your project.

Read some scientific books or magazines to get inspiring ideas.

Check out the SARSEF website at the Science Buddies website at or go to the Pima County Library for Science Fair Books or other research on a particular subject.

WEB RESOURCES:

“Southern Arizona Regional Science and Technology Fair”

“Surviving a Science Fair”

“ZOOM Science with PBS kids”

“Back to School with Family Education: 8 Steps to a Great Science Fair Projects”

“Science News For Kids”

“Steve Spangler Science”

“SPIGOT Science Magazine for Kids”

“Kids Graphing Website”

“Science Buddies”

SCHOOL CONTACTS:

Please direct questions to these Science Fair Organizers and Science Mentors:

Mrs. Paula Nasiatka, Science Lab Coordinator -

Mrs. Lynda Runkle, Science Fair Coordinator -

Mrs. Jennifer Maxwell, SMArt Enrichment Coordinator -

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Including photographs in your project is a great way to show how you completed your experiment and compared results. When photographing, make sure you are capturing active shots of project participants or subjects. Portrait style photos will not be accepted.

DISPLAY BOARDS:

SARSEF Allowable Display Size for K-8 MUST be no more than:

-30 in. deep (front to back)

-36 in. wide (side to side)

-42 in. high (for table display only)

Please Note: Electrical Power is not supplied for K-8 display boards.

WHERE TO GET A DISPLAY BOARD:

Walgreens, Target, Michaels, JoAnn’s and Parent-Teacher Connection all carry display boards that fit the SARSEF requirements. They range in cost from $2 to $5 dollars. The ones at Michaels and JoAnn’s are the nicest and come in a variety of colors. They can also be purchased at a discount with one of their weekly coupons.

Topic/Project Title

Talk to your child about a problem they might want to solve. As a parent, you can guide them through selecting a topic by researching topic ideas with your child on the Internet and at the library. Assist your child in recording their research and ideas in their science journal. Be sure to start your Science Journal on the very first day of your research and use it throughout the entire length of the project.

What is it that you are trying to find out from your experiment?

State this title as one question. Example: Do plants grow taller in fluorescent light?
You must be able to measure the results. For example, you can measure “grows taller”, but you cannot measure “grows better.”

My Title: ______

RESOURCES

Find books, magazines and other references that will help you perform your experiment. Use this research to develop your purpose, hypothesis and conclusion of your experiment. Of your resources, TWO must be from written sources such as journals, books or periodicals. You may, of course, use more than three resources. Take your time with your research and learn as much as you can about your topic. This will help you develop your hypothesis and give you ideas on how to conduct your experiment.

Important: List your resources in bibliography format. Use to create the bibliography.

Resource 1.______

______

Resource 2.______

______

Resource 3.______

______

PURPOSE

Plan Ahead. It takes time for young children to journal,perhaps 15 minutes at a time. Kindergarteners can dictate to parents, while 1st graders can copy and write simple sentences. Second graders may have learned to use the keyboard, but may need help. Third graders may need help in formulating their thoughts, but most can use a keyboard.

State the problem you are trying to solve and then briefly describe how you are going to do the experiment.

______

State why you want to do this experiment or how you became interested in the topic. This must be a scientific reason. Do NOT write that you “love planets” or “I have always thought planets are fun.”

______

HYPOTHESIS

After researching your topic, you should have some predictions about what you think will happen in your experiment. This educated guess is called your hypothesis. It is an IF, THEN statement. The following is a sample hypothesis from a very basic experiment.

If I test a plant in fluorescent light and incandescent light, to determine which will grow a taller plant, then I expect incandescent light will produce the taller plant.

I base my hypothesis on research I have done in the book, Ecology of Plants, written by Joe Smith. His book states that plants need a certain wavelength of light to carry on photosynthesis. This wavelength of light is more concentrated in incandescent light.

Help younger students understand the hypothesis by talking through some simple ideas. If I drop a ball, then it will fall. If I do not water a plant, then it will wilt. If I do not use baking soda in a cake, then it will not rise.

Fill in the blanks with your information. Don’t leave any information out!

If I test (insert your variable here) to determine (insert what effect you are trying to see), then I expect (insert what the outcome will be).

I base my hypothesis on(insert your research/reasoning here).

If I test ______

______

to determine ______

then I expect ______

______

I base my hypothesis on ______

______

MATERIALS LIST

The materials list is a complete list of all materials including details and amounts.

Include quantities (how much), length, volume, and mass.
List quantities in metric units.

Example materials list:

GOOD Materials List / POOR Materials List

20 liters of water
Stop watch with second hand
Metric ruler with millimeters listed
3 cubic meters of potting soil

1 quart Water
Watch
Ruler
Dirt

Younger children need more help understanding how to list things scientifically. For example, show them the back of a cake mix box, including the picture directions. Help them figure out everything they will need. Encourage them to draw their list if that suits them better.

Amount/Size Material

PROCEDURE

The procedure is a detailed, step-by-step set of instructions that tells everyone exactlyhow to complete your experiment. For accurate results, and to make sure they werenot just an "accident," the experiment needs to be repeated THREE times. Take photos to show steps and follow these rules.

For younger students expect that this section will take your child longer to journal or type. Let your child describe how they did the experiment in their own words.

Write this section as steps, not a paragraph.
Use metric measurements!
Do not use personal pronouns (you, I, we, etc.)
Example:

Step 1. Gather all materials.

Step 2. Use a waterproof marker and label the 15cm pot, POT #1.

Step 3. Fill pot #1 with 2 liters of sand.

Step 1. Gather all materials.
Step 2.
Step 3.
Step 4.
Step 5.
Step 6.
Step 7.
Step 8.
The last step in the procedure is: Record and analyze data.

RESULTS

This section has two parts:

A written explanation of your results. Do NOT say why things happened or your opinions of the results. Example: The Plant A was 1 cm on the first day and continued to grow each day with a final height of 8 cm. Plant B was 1 cm on the first day and 1 cm on the second day, followed by no further changes.

At least one visual. This can be a table, chart, or graph. For example:

Amount of Growth each day (cm)
Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 4
Plant A / 2 / 4 / 5 / 8
Plant B / 1 / 2 / 2 / 2

Written results: ______

______

Graph and/or chart:

For younger children, have them draw a picture of what happened. Be creative with graphs. Count using images. For example, if they caught 2 fish using bait #1, then have them cut out 2 fish and paste them to the graph. Use colored pencils to make it easier to erase. Try the user friendly graphing website at

CONCLUSION

Your conclusion explains why you got the results you did. For younger children, this section can be very simple. Discuss these questions with your child and come up with a one sentence answer that describes your results.

Your conclusion MUST contain these 5 parts:

Your conclusion should state whether your hypothesis is true or false.

My hypothesis was ______

State why the outcome happened.

______

List factors that might have affected your outcome.

______

Describe how you could further test this project.

______

Describe real-world uses for the information you learned.

______

DISPLAY BOARD

Your science fair display board is how your project will be viewed and judged. You worked hard to pick a great project, design, and conduct a valid experiment and reach conclusions. Now, make sure to put the same care and thought into your display and presentation.

The keys to a good science fair display are simplicity, clarity, and neatness. Everything must be neat, organized, and lined-up well. No sloppy work, crossed-out words, erasure marks, pictures falling off, etc.

Most children love to be creative with decorating their display board. Do not save this until the end. Students can create headers and tape them on with painters tape. They can be handwritten or typed. Use lined paper if necessary and use pencils so they can erase. Make the board interesting and add photographs where possible. Use a type of glue that will dry clear when you are ready to make it permanent.

The following example display board is the order in which your information should be displayed on your board. It should be organized logically and read like a book.

Please include your child’s name, grade and class on the back, upper right of the board.

Planning Timeline

In order to avoid a last minute panic, complete the following timeline as a general guide for completing each step of the process.

Section / Date Completed By
Topic/Title
Research/Resources
Purpose
Hypothesis
Materials List
Procedure
Results
Conclusion
Display Board / Don't wait until the end to do this. You can work on it as you go along! Due on Wed. Feb. 11, 2015