Rolling Hills Elementary
Science Fair
Pre-K through 5th Grade
Hello Rolling Hills Parents,
Each year your students are given the opportunity to participate and compete in the campus
Science Fair for the honor and privilege to have their projects advance to the District Science
Fair. This letter and the attached sheets provide the information necessary for your child to
complete his/her project. The project requirements for your student are attached. Each project will
be judged by the criteria and point system listed below.
 Creative Ability—30 points
 Scientific Thought and Engineering Goals—30 points
 Skill—12 points
 Thoroughness—16 points
 Clarity—12 points
Remember this is NOT a demonstration. Making models of a solar system, a volcano or a
tornado does not qualify as a science project. Please read and discuss with your child the attached
information before he/she begins their science project. If you have any questions or concerns,
please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.
PERTINENT INFORMATION:
Pre-K and Kindergarten—class project
1st d grade—class project, team project, or individual project
2nd through 5th grade—team project or individual project
Project Due Date: Friday, December 9, 2011
Campus Science Fair: Wednesday, December 14, 2011
HELPFUL WEBSITES:
http://dallasciencefair.org/
http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/scifairstudio/ideas.html
http://www.cdli.ca/sciencefairs/
http://all-science-fair-projects.com/index.php
http://www.scifair.org/
http://www.sciencefair-projects.org/
http://scienceprojectideasforkids.com/
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph
http://www.scienceproject.com/projects/index/elementary.asp
http://www.scienceproject.com
Lancaster ISD
Science, Math, Technology, and Engineering Fair
SciMaTE 2011
Campus Science Fair: December 14, 2011
The Parts of an Experimental Science Fair Project - The Scientific Process
There is no need to follow this exactly, but as a general rule, you will find that judges expect each
of these sections:
Table of Contents
List the main sections, and their page numbers.
Abstract
This is the last section that you will write. In 250 words or less, write a brief description of what
you have done, and what you learned. You need to detail in brief the purpose, the procedures and
measurements, the results, and your conclusions. The aim is to give the reader a quick
understanding of your work.
Research Report
This section shows the background information you gathered from library research or the web.
This is the background that you have established before you started and helped you to formulate
the purpose and hypothesis of your experiment.
Purpose
This details the problem you were trying to solve, even though this is probably obvious from your
title, but it should also say why you thought this was a problem worth solving, and the benefits
that might be obtained from solving the problem.
Hypothesis/Prediction
"Hypothesis" means "what do you expect to happen in your experiment?" Suppose your research
question is, "what happens to seeds if I change the temperatures they are kept at before they are
planted?" The hypothesis might be "If the temperature is higher at which the seeds are kept at,
then they will sprout quicker."
It's important to word your hypothesis correctly. For example, don't say "higher temperatures are
better for seeds." "Better" cannot be measured. Decide on a hypothesis that can be proved in a
measurable way. For example, "higher temperatures will make the seeds sprout faster."
It is perfectly fine for your experiment to disprove your hypothesis. If something unexpected
happens during your experiment, the project doesn't need to be trashed. You just discovered
something new and showed that what we expect is not always what we get.
The hypothesis is a crucial component of the scientific method since its validity could be tested
by statistical means.
Materials
List here all the materials you used to perform your experiment.
Procedure
The procedure is how you plan to do things: how you are going to conduct your experiment.
An experiment can only have one independent variable. That means you can only change (test)
one condition in each experiment.
For example, with the seed-sprouting experiment, if your independent variable is the temperature
at which the seeds are stored before you plant them, treat each group (the experimental and
control) of seeds the same before and after you plant them, the same storing conditions and make
sure all of the seeds get the same amount of light and water after you plant them only besides
your independent variable - the storage temperature of the seeds.
If there's more than one variable, the experiment becomes flawed. It can be hard to figure out
what other conditions must stay the same. But it may help to think it through before you start
your experiment.
Also think about how long your experiment will take before you decide on your procedure. If you
only have a few weeks to do your experiment, don't decide on a procedure that will take months
to carry out.
Think about your "sample size." How many seeds will you test at each temperature? Allow a big
enough sample so you can have a few duds in each group.
Take in account that in order to avoid coincidental affects on your experiment you will need to
repeat your experiment a few times – this procedure is called “repetitions”.
Once you decide on a procedure, write it down step by step. That way, you can prove what you
did and can follow the same procedure if you need to repeat the experiment.
Results
This is where you collect the information or data from your experiment outcomes. Your data
should be in numbers, not just what you see. For example, say that some of your plants grew 1
centimeter the third day. Don't say that the plants "look bigger today than they did yesterday."
Words like "bigger" mean different things to different people, so reporting your results using only
words can lead to confusion. You want to tell people exactly how much your plants grew.
You may display your data in a table or graph. Keep all your results in one notebook (logbook).
Conclusions
It can be hard to understand the difference between results and conclusion, but the two are very
different.
Results are the specific data collected during the experiment. The conclusion is what you learned
from doing the experiment, and what the results mean. You might also think of the conclusion as
a summary. In just a few sentences, you need to explain what happened in your experiment and
whether it agreed with your hypothesis.
Did your data (the measurements you took) support your hypothesis? If not, that's a result, too. It
doesn't mean that the experiment didn't work. Also, consider other possible explanations for your
results. Did your treatment kill your plants or was it that you left them outside and some insects
ate some of the leaves? You're not out to "prove" your hypothesis but to test it. Think more along
the lines of "here's what I thought was going to happen and here's what actually happened." Then
go on to explain why you think things happened the way they did.
Acknowledgements
If people helped you, say so. List them by name, and state briefly what they did to help. It is
normal to list them by alphabetical order of surname. For email contacts, list the email addresses
as well. As a rule, keep this section brief.
Bibliography
This is an alphabetical list of sources of information used to form a hypothesis, design your
experiment, and compose your research report. List all the details that would be needed to help
somebody else find that same piece of information. You will usually find that there are rules
describing how the entries are to be written.
General Rules and Safety Guidelines
1. Anything that could be hazardous as a public display is prohibited. The
following
items may not be a part of the display:
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all microbes
all waste samples and materials
all chemicals (including water and household or kitchen items)
live animals, preserved invertebrate/vertebrate animals or their parts
(except SEALED insects or sea shells)
human parts (except teeth, hair, and histological section)
live, disease-causing organisms which are pathogenic to man or other
live vertebrates
microbial cultures and fungi, live or dead
food, either human or animal
plants
syringes, pipettes and similar devices
any flames, open or concealed
highly flammable display materials
Highly combustible solids, fluids, or gases. Inert substitutes MUST be
used if such materials are required for display
dangerous chemicals including caustics and acids
liquid and solid gases
tanks which have contained combustible gases, including butane and
propane
operation of a Class III or IV laser
2. Proper attention to safety is expected of all fair participants, including
compliance with the following requirements for all operating exhibits:
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Any exhibit producing temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Celsius
MUST BE adequately insulated from its surroundings.
Batteries with open top cells are not permitted. Other types of
batteries may be used for electric power.
High voltage wiring, switches and metal parts MUST be located out of
reach of observers and designed with an adequate overload safety
factor.
Electric circuits for 110-volt AC MUST have an Under Writer Laboratories
approved cord of proper lead-carrying capacity, which is at least 15
feet long.
Bare wire and exposed knife switches may be used only on circuits of
12 volts or less; otherwise, standard enclosed switches are used.
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Electrical connections in 100-volt circuits MUST be soldered or fixed under
approved connectors and connecting wires properly insulated.
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Electric outlets are limited and cannot be guaranteed.
3. Science projects must show an attempt to resolve a scientific problem.
 Models and demonstrations are not acceptable science projects for
this competition.
Ex: Solar Systems and Volcanoes and Tornadoes
4. Science projects should use an investigative process where data is collected
and interpreted by the student.
{Example: The Scientific Method- Research a Topic, State a Problem,
Form a Prediction or Hypothesis, Develop a Procedure (test the
prediction/hypothesis), Collect Data, Draw Conclusions, and a Plan for
Future Study}