Science Fair - Judging Guidelines
How Do I Go About A Science Fair Project
Pick a general area you are interested in such as:
Medicine
Electricity
Animal Behavior
Sound
Human Behavior
Light & Lenses
Motors & Engines
Magnetism
Nutrition
Chemistry
Pollution
Plants
Gravity
Human Body
Rocketry
Heredity
Weather
Machines
Read, look at pictures, think, wonder.
Discuss your ideas with your friends, parents, teachers
Look through books, magazines, pamphlets
Visit a library for:
o Books about your particular interest
o Project and experiment books
o 4-H project books, magazines such as Highlights,
 National Geographic ,Popular Science,
 Popular Mechanics, Popular Electronics
o Hobby books and magazines
Tell the librarians you need ideas for science projects
Keep your eyes open for ideas when you are in hobby shops,
electronic stores, pet shops, toy stores.
Look through your science text and your notebook at some
of the experiments you did; raise and test another question.
Type of Project: INVESTIGATIVE
Select a topic: The elasticity of a rubber band
Raise a question: Does temperature change the stretchiness
of a rubberband?
Hypothesis: If the temperature of a rubberband increases,
then the stretchiness of the rubberband will increase.
Exhibit:
All projects are freestanding, 36" wide or smaller. Electrical outlets
are limited. (Request permission for electical accessibility before
the day of the science fair.) No extension cords are provided.
Make the exhibit eyecatching and colorful. Consider stencils or
printed materials to identify elements of the project.
Jr. High students are expected to have all required elements of a
science fair project in a folder/binder. It should include the information
researched on the topic and your Experimental Design Report. The EDR
will be given out at the end of November.
Categories:
Knowledge Gained
Has the student learned something by doing this project? Can the student
answer general knowledge questions within the scope of the project?
Scientific Approach
Does the student understand the purpose or hypothesis of the project?
Has the student listed the procedure a list of the materials and gathered
the data according to the scientific method? Has the student identified the
control and experimental set-up? Did the student list the dependent and
independent variables? Did te student use metric measures. Are all parts
of the scientific method present?
Collection of Data
Did the student collect the data 2, 3, 4, 5 or more times? The more trials
the more accurate the results
Charts, Graphs, Photos or Journal of Data
Has the student represented the data on a chart or a graph? Is the data
displayed in such a manner that shows the outcome of the experiment.
Results
Based on the data, is a clear summary stated that explains what
happened.
Conclusion
Has the student drawn a fair and impartial conclusion?
Has the student noticed any mistakes or problems which occurred
and should be corrected for further experimentation?
Written Work Jr. High Only
Has the student written the information neatly and is it grammatically
correct? Are words spelled correctly? Does the student have a wellwritten project binder?
Display
Is the physical display neat and organized? Does it contain all necessary
elements: Title, Question, Hypothesis, Procedure, Data/Graphs,
Charts/Results, and Conclusion.
Oral Presentation
Has the student shown enthusiasm explaining the project?
Does the student show a thorough understanding of the project and the
final outcome?
Setting Up a Science Fair Project Display
PURPOSE/QUESTION to be TESTED:
State the topic and put it into a creative Title.
Raise a question which can be answered by performing an experiment.
HYPOTHESIS
The experiment should measure some type of change, such as a change
in weight, height, size, temperature, condition or time.
For example. If the temperature of a rubber band is increased then
the stretch of the rubber band will increase.
PROCEDURE
The procedure for your experiment should include:
Materials - a list of everything used in your experiment. Include what,
how much, and what kind of things were used.
HINT: It is more scientific to use metric measurements.
Variables (Independent/Manipulated, Dependent/Responding, Constants)
Manipulated Variable - what you change on purpose in the experiment.
Responding Variable - what changes by itself because you change
something on purpose
Variables Held Constant - everything else in your experiment must be kept
the same (held constant)
Step-by-step Directions - an easy to follow “recipe” of everything you did
in performing your experiment. HINT: It is more scientific to conduct the
experiment at least three times. Your teacher can help you decide if more
trials are necessary.
GRAPHS
Graphs are a visual way to display the average of data you have collected.
Bar
Graph
Line Graph
ST BERNADETTE
SCIENCE FAIR
GRADES 7 & 8
Titl e
Dat
a
Graphs / Charts
Other Info
Log
Research
Paper
January 27th – 31st, 2015
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27TH
DR OP OF F
7:30-7:55 A.M.
T A B L E S IN P A C
PRESENTATION TO JUDGES
EXPLAIN THE DATA & DRAW A CONCLUSION
Explain the results, the patterns and trends showing in the charts and
graphs.
State whether the results agree with the hypothesis. Identify an experiment
you would do if you went further. Explain any problems that affected the
results and what you would do differently next time.
Results
DURING SCHOOL HOURS
SUNDAY, JANUARY 31ST
VISITATION
11:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.
PA C