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Constellatio

n
Schools

2015 2016
Dear Student Scientist,
Welcome to this years Science Fair. This packet will give you all the information you need to
prepare a successful project and display.
The first thing you need to do is select an area of science that fascinates you and an experiment
that interests you. There are many good books at the library and websites on the Internet with
ideas for Science Fair projects. Middle school students are encouraged to be creative and
original. It is important that you do your project with little help from your parents. Instead of a
perfect project, its more important for you to wrestle with problems and try to solve them
because the learning is in the doing. Your parents can help guide you, but the final project
should be your own effort and design.
Keep in mind that your Science Fair project should be an experiment, not a research report. An
experiment uses the scientific method to answer a question or solve a problem. If your project
idea does not accomplish either of these, then it is not an experiment and you will need to come
up with a different idea.
The school will be providing display boards for each student. The display board is the final step
in the process. There is a lot of work to be done before you reach this stage! Students should
bring in a large garbage bag to take their board home in because they are white and can get dirty
easily.
As you are completing your experiment, please keep in mind that not every experiment gives a
scientist the results that they wanted. More often than not, experiments can prove a scientist
wrong. DO NOT change your results from what you found in the experiment just so you can
prove your hypothesis. It is more important to learn from the actual results than to make them
come out perfect, and your grade will not be hurt if your conclusion doesnt prove your
hypothesis correct.
Remember that ribbons or certificates do not measure your success in the Science Fair. You will
succeed by learning and understanding more about science and how scientists work. Awards are
secondary. The real goal of the Science Fair is to stimulate your curiosity about our world!
Please let us help if you have any questions. Have fun!

SCIENCE FAIR DUE DATES


Assignment

Due Date

Date
Completed

Select Topic: Try visiting a museum,


zoo, science center or the library for
ideas.
Write a Problem Statement/Big
Question: Make sure it is a question
you can investigate yourself.
Research & Note Taking: Use books,
magazines, encyclopedias, internet.
Be sure to site your sources & use
good websites!
Hypothesis: A good guess of what
you think the outcome of your
experiment will be.
Procedures: Step by step how to do
your experiment and a list of materials
you will need. Be detailed!
Experiment & Record
Observations: Collect the materials
and do the experiment. Collect all
your data in a journal.
Organize & Analyze Data: Use
graphs, charts, or tables to make your
data easy to understand. Determine
whether it supports your hypothesis.
Conclusions: Summarize your data
and state whether it supports your
hypothesis. Be sure to restate the
hypothesis!
Improvements: Analyze your
experiment. What went wrong? What
could you improve on? What other
things could you research in the
future?
Display Board: Displays charts,
graphs, photos, illustrations, neat
lettering and models of your
experiment. All information is
organizes neatly and typed. (See
example for required format)
Total Project: (this will be broken up in
progressbook as stated above, and will be
split over 1st and 2nd quarter.)

Building Science Fair


Constellation Science Fair January 23, 2016

Parent
Check

Teacher
Check

Teacher
Point
Value

SCIENCE FAIR JUDGING QUESTIONS


The following is a list of questions that may be asked of you during the judging. Be prepared to
answer these questions about your project.
Group (A) Purpose, Hypothesis
1) How did you get this idea?
2) What was the most interesting background reading you did?
3) Can you explain your variables?
Group (B) Procedures, Materials
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

How does this experiment conform to the scientific method?


Where did you get your materials?
How did you determine your sample size?
Can you explain your procedure to me?
How many times did you repeat this experiment? Why did you choose this number?
Group (C) Results, Conclusion

1) Can you explain your graphs to me?


2) Can you explain your results to me?
3) What is the most important thing you found out by doing this project?
Group (D) Improvements
1) Did you acquire any new skill while doing your project?
2) Did you change your original procedures?
3) If you were to do this project again what would you do differently to make it better?
*Questions in bold are the tougher questions.
**Please choose 4 questions from the sheet provided, one from each category.
Use the following rubric to determine a score for the students response.
0 No understanding
1- Some Understanding 2 Good Understanding

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR THE SCIENCE FAIR

For the middle school grades, experiments requiring open flames, matches, rockets, live
animals, insects, dry ice, or other questionable items require the approval of the teacher and
Science Fair Committee. Pictures or videos with the display board may be used in place of the
actual item at the time of your projects presentation.
Follow the scientific method by asking a question and performing an experiment.
Informational only displays do not follow the scientific method.
Everything on the display board must be labeled. Use the display board example in this packet
as a guide. Eye-catching equipment, samples, and pictures add interest. Artwork and creativity
make your exhibits unique, but keep it simple so not to distract from the information.
Please tell your teacher if you will need an electrical outlet, nearby water source, TV, VCR,
computer, or other special supply at the Science Fair. If you need an outlet, you are
responsible for bringing an extension cord.
SCIENCE FAIR DISPLAY BOARDS
TITLE This may be stated as a question. (What is the problem?)
PURPOSE What you want to find out. (Usually a question you will answer or problem you
will solve)
HYPOTHESIS A statement that will predict an answer to the problem you are exploring.
VARIABLES Anything that can be observed or measured in an experiment
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: This is the variable that the scientist makes changes to.
DEPENDANT VARIABLE: The variable that changes because you changed the
independent variable. This is usually what scientists look for or measure for their
results.
CONTROL VARIABLE: All of the other things that do not change in the experiment.
PROCEDURES List step-by-step procedures and materials used in your experiment.
RESULTS Show what happened in your experiment. You may want to use pictures, graphs, or
tables of information.
CONCLUSIONS How your results support or do not support your hypothesis
IMPROVEMENTS What didnt work in your experiment and how would you change your
experiment to make it work better next time? Are there any additional things you would like to
test for next time around? Are there any other experiments you want to try after seeing how this
one turned out?

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