Science Fairs
and Your
Child
An introduction to the
Scientific Process
Steve Culivan
John C. Stennis Space Center
NASA AESP
sculivan@aesp.nasa.okstate.edu
Activity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Choose a number from 1 - 10...
Multiply by 9...
Add the digits of the product in #2 together...
Subtract 5 from the answer in #3...
Choose the
letter of the alphabet
that
GRAY
ELEPHANTS
FROM
corresponds with that number...
6. Choose aDENMARK!!!
COUNTRY that begins with this
letter...
7. Take the second letter from that country’s
name and choose a MAMMAL that begins
with that letter...
8. Think of the normal color of that mammal...
Why do schools make my
child do a science fair
project?
According to the National Science Teachers
Association:
• Recruits new generations of scientists,
mathematicians, and engineers
• Doing research projects provides problemsolving experiences with emphasis on the
inquiry-centered approach.
• Science fair projects should also be fun and
exciting, motivating students to do research
projects at higher academic levels as well as
to pursue professional careers in research.
The common misconception among
parents about why schools make their
children do science fair projects:
To torture the
parents!
The keys to a successful
science fair experience:
• Emphasis should be placed on the learning
experience rather than on the competition
• The emphasis should be on scientific
process, content, and/or application
• Projects and presentation should be the
work of the student with proper credit to
others for their contributions…in other
words: partner with and support your child
– do not DO the project for him/her.
Selecting a Science Fair
Topic Selection Tips
1. Find a project that is interesting to you.
2. If you are having trouble finding an idea, refer to some science
fair books at your school library, local public library, or visit
some online science fair resource sites to get ideas about
possible topics.
3. Remember that the best projects are often original - which
means think of the question yourself, and find a way to answer
the question through a simple experiment.
4. Keep the experiment simple at this level, and use the scientific
process.
5. Your science fair project could be a model or a demonstration
on how something works (like an alarm clock or a door bell).
Mary Lightbody -Columbus Public Schools
http://www.cyberbee.com/science/prep.html
Selecting a Science Fair
Topic “Product Testing”
Selection Tips
• Design a series of product tests to determine which
product performs better (consult consumer product
testing articles on how to design a product test and what
to test).
– Test the product using careful scientific process and
experimental design; remember to make an
hypothesis about which will perform better.
– Collect data and compare the results; repeat the
testing sufficient number of times to establish
validity.
– Compare the results to your hypothesis and make
some conclusions.
– Consider sharing these with the companies and
consider sharing your results with other schools
through the Internet.
Mary Lightbody -Columbus Public Schools
http://www.cyberbee.com/science/prep.html
Selecting a Science Fair
Topic High School
Selection Tips
• An individual student at the high school level should
identify a project that is challenging, and one for which
no immediate answer is obvious. Topics selected by
high school students are often investigations which
continue over several years, often with the help of a
teacher at the school, a professor at a nearby college or
university, or a local community business person.
– Studying a stream or pond near the school or near
the student’s home for indications of change in the
ecosystem caused by an outside agent or force.
– Collecting soil samples from a few carefully selected
sites for laboratory analysis for evidence of pollution
or contamination from pesticides or herbicides.
– Designing a computer program to solve a problem
faced by the school or a local company.
Mary Lightbody -Columbus Public Schools
http://www.cyberbee.com/science/prep.html
Regardless of what emphasis you
use, the stress of a science
project should be on the following
• Experimenting to gather
data and making
observations
• Interpreting and
organizing data
• Measuring and recording
data
• Looking for irregularities,
deviations, or exceptions
• Seeking assistance from
others who are
considered “experts”
• Clarifying problems
• Verifying data by
numerous reliable
sources (e.g. internet)
• Gathering facts by
means of direct
observations
• Speculating and making
hypotheses
• Developing “models”
• Using literature to gather
data
• Testing results through
new applications, tools &
techniques
• Checking cause and
effect relationships
• Reporting findings
accurately
What is the scientific
method?
The scientific method is the means
by which every scientist goes
about discovering the answer to a
question in which they plan to
research and experiment.
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
1.) State the question or
problem
What is it that you are trying to find
out from your experiment? What is
it that you are trying to achieve?
The best projects come from ideas that your children have natural
curiosities about. But make sure they are “testable” questions.
“How do paper towels work?” is not testable. “What brand of
paper towel is the most absorbent?” is testable.
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
2.) Research the topic
Investigate what others have already
learned about your question.
Gather information that will help
you perform your experiment
Use a variety of resources: interviews, encyclopedias,
dictionaries, internet, books. Make sure to credit your sources
and quote direct quotes. Do NOT copy sources word for word
for the entire research section. Jot down ideas on note cards
to assemble later for your report.
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
3.) State the hypothesis
After having thoroughly researched a
topic, you should have some prediction
about what you think will happen in your
experiment. This educated guess
concerning the outcome is called your
hypothesis. You must state your
hypothesis in a way that you can readily
measure.
Stress to your child the goal is not the “right” or the “wrong”
answer. This is merely a guess about what they think might
happen when they test their guesses.
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
4.) Design an experiment to
test the hypothesis
Now that you have come up with a
hypothesis, you need to develop a
procedure for testing whether it is true or
false. This involves changing one variable
and measuring the impact that this change
has on other variables. When you are
conducting your experiment, you need to
make sure that you are only measuring the
impact of a single change.
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
A word about step 4…
This is probably the most tedious
part of the scientific method for
your child because they will need
to be very specific in how they are
going to test their hypothesis.
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
Share with your child this scenario:
Take a trip in your imagination to your friend’s house where his/her mom
has been baking the most wonderful chocolate cake you will ever eat.
After you have eaten your third slice, you ask your friend’s mom if you
could please have the recipe so that you can make the cake at your
house. She writes the recipe down and being so excited that you now
have the world’s best chocolate cake recipe in your hands, you run
home to see if you can make it too. When you get to your kitchen to
read the recipe card you find the following:
Chocolate cake recipe:
Chocolate
Flour
Sugar
Baking soda
Vanilla
Salt
What’s wrong with this recipe card?
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
Is there only ONE testable variable in
this experiment?
There are two types of variables:
Dependent - the parts of the experiment
that need to remain constant in order to
receive a valid result.
Independent – the one thing in the
experiment that you are changing for
the test.
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
Consider our earlier experiment:
Which paper towel is the most
absorbent?
Dependent variables for this
experiment would be?
What is the ONE independent
variable?
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
The test should be run
MULTIPLE times. Doing
the experiment once does
NOT lead to a valid answer.
The average of the
answers should be taken to
yield a valid result.
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
Finally:
The experimenter must keep an
accurate journal of what has
happened with the experiment.
TAKE PICTURES! It’s also
suggested using a composition
notebook with dated pages so
that all observations and results
can be recorded as they happen.
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
5.) Analyze the results
At this stage, you want to be
organizing and analyzing the data
that you have collected during the
course of your experiment in order
to summarize what your
experiment has shown you. This is
where your graphing skills will
come in.
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
6.) Draw the conclusion(s)
This is your opportunity to explain the
meaning of your results. Did your
experiment support your hypothesis?
Does additional research need to be
conducted? How did your experiment
address your initial question and
purpose? Don’t be afraid to say “My
hypothesis was wrong!”
What are the steps of the
scientific method?
7.) Report the results and
conclusions
Since you are performing an
experiment for the science fair, you
will write a report and prepare a
display board so that others can
share in your discoveries.
Make the project
manageable!
Need ideas? Check out these
websites:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/
http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/
http://www.ipl.org/div/projectguide/
http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/
http://www.cdli.ca/sciencefairs/
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/hqlibrary/pathfinders/fairs.htm
http://www.sciserv.org/isef/
Make the project
manageable!
From the moment that your child is
assigned the “science fair project”,
sit down with him/her and using a
calendar, plot out due dates for the
individual steps of the project
making sure to have everything
completed by its due date. This
makes the “impossible” seem
“possible”.
Make the project
manageable!
Suggested time amounts for each step:
Step One (State the question) – 1-2 days
Step Two (Research the topic) – 2 weeks
Step Three (State the hypothesis) – 1 day
Step Four (Design and experiment) – 2 weeks
Step Five (Analyze the results) – 5 days
Step Six (Draw the conclusion) – 3-4 days
Step Seven (Report the results)– date your
project is due
International Science and Engineering Fair Categories for All Divisions
Animal Science: Study of Animals – animal genetics, ornithology, ichthyology, herpetology, entomology, animal ecology,
paleontology, cellular physiology, circadian rhythms, animal husbandry, cytology, histology, animal physiology, invertebrate
neurophysiology, studies of invertebrates, systematics, etc.
Behavioral and Social Sciences: Human and animal behavior, social and community relationships – psychology, sociology,
anthropology, archaeology, ethology, ethnology, linguistics, learning, perception, urban problems, reading problems, public
opinion surveys, educational testing, etc.
Biochemistry: Chemistry of life processes – enzymes, photosynthesis, blood chemistry, protein chemistry, food chemistry,
hormones, metabolism, structural biochemistry, etc.
Cellular & Molecular Biology: Cellular and molecular biology, cellular and molecular genetics, immunology, etc.
Chemistry: Study of nature and composition of matter and laws governing it – physical chemistry, organic chemistry (other than
biochemistry), inorganic chemistry, materials, plastics, fuels, pesticides, metallurgy, soil chemistry, etc.
Computer Science: Study and development of computer hardware, software engineering, algorithms, data bases, artificial
intelligence, networking and communications, computer graphics, computer and operating systems, etc.
Earth Sciences: Climatology, weather, geochemistry, mineralogy, paleontology, geophysics, planetary science, tectonics, etc.
Engineering: Technology; projects that directly apply scientific principles to manufacturing and practical uses – Bioengineering, civil,
electrical, computer, mechanical, construction, chemical, industrial, material science, thermodynamics, solar, robotics, etc.
Environmental Science: Air pollution and air quality, soil contamination and quality, water pollution and quality, bioremediation,
ecosystems management, environmental engineering, land resource management, forestry, etc.
Mathematics: Development of formal logical systems or various numerical and algebraic computations, and the application of these
principles – calculus, geometry, abstract algebra, number theory, statistics, complex analysis, probability, analysis, applied math,
etc.
Medicine and Health: Study of diseases and health of humans and animals – dentistry, pharmacology, pathology, ophthalmology,
nutrition, sanitation, pediatrics, dermatology, allergies, speech and hearing, etc.
Microbiology: Biology or microorganisms – bacteriology, virology, protozoology, fungi, bacterial genetics, yeast, etc.
Physics & Astronomy: Astronomy, atoms, molecules, solids, biological physics, instrumentation and electronics, magnetics and
electromagnetics, nuclear and particle physics, optics, lasers, masers, theoretical physics, theoretical or computational
astronomy, etc.
Plant Science: Study of plant life – agriculture, agronomy, horticulture, forestry, plant taxonomy, plant physiology, plant pathology,
plant genetics, hydroponics, algae, plant systematics, evolution, etc.
Have a Fun
Learning
Experience!