Weather and climate poster competition

Each year the Department of Physics invites school students to create an A3 poster to promote an area within physics. The subject of this year’s competition is weather and climate. This competition can be completed at home or in school.

Competition rules

  • Posters must be A3 in size containing diagrams and/or images.
  • Students should use libraries and the internet to search for material.
  • Poster should feature one of the two featured topics (see next page).
  • Individuals may enter the competition directly or through their school. Schools are asked to submit their best entries only. We cannot accept more than four entries per class.
  • Write your name at the top of each poster.
  • Entries must arrive before 16th April 2015.
  • Entries are to be submitted in electronic form (PDF) and emailed to .

The competition is open to individual students in two age ranges and posters will be judged in these categories:

  • Year 4-6 (ages 8-11)
  • Year 7-9 (ages 11-14)

Attached is a printable version of the entry form.

Prizes

  • All submitted entries will receive a certificate.
  • The best entries will be displayed on the Department of Physics website.
  • Prizes are available for each category and age range.
  • Winners and their teachers and families will be invited to a public lecture and prize giving ceremony to be held on Saturday 2nd May 2015 at the University of Oxford.

Poster topics

Please choose one of the following topics for your poster:

1.Public information poster

Design a poster informing people about climate change. The poster should be aimed at other school children and include some scientific information on the causes and effects of climate change. Global warming caused by human activity could be included with ways in which everyone can help combat these changes in their day to day lives.

2.Scientific poster & experiment

Design and carry out an experiment to measure and record weather conditions in your local area. You should think about the following and include details in your poster:

  • Hypothesis: What you hope to achieve or prove with your experiment.
  • Method: The method you will use to take your results, including how often you will take results and how you will keep it reliable (a fair test).
  • Apparatus: Produce a drawing, photo or clear description of your equipment.
  • Results: What are the results from your experiment? This could be presented in a table or graph.
  • Uncertainties: What are the main sources of error and how big do you estimate them to be?
  • Conclusions: The conclusions you made based on your experiment.

It would also be interesting to include a section on how you could develop your experiment further if you had unlimited time, money and resources!

The event is sponsored by The Ogden Trust.