Transcript PACT Facts Science Update

Science Fair: From Horror to
Happy in Four (or so) Easy Steps

Anderson Mill Elementary School
October 2, 2014
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Choose a kid friendly question (and
have the student answer it!).
Start early and follow a reasonable
timeline.
Make it good science.
Think like a science fair judge.
It’s ok if it doesn’t
turn out the way
you
hypothesized.
That’s science!
•The title should be the question
that’s being investigated.
•Focus on neat and “followable.” If
you have to make it pretty, do it
with data display and relevant
digital pictures.
•Include the data and an explanation
of what it means. (Check out this
site for making graphs:
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/
createAGraph/)
•Focus on science fundamentals.
•Follow the rules!
The Rules
A few surprises…
• Your project may NOT have plants or plant
parts with it.
• Your project may NOT have any food with it.
• Your project may NOT have any liquids with
it.
• Your project MAY have teeth, hair, nails, or
dried animal bones with it.
• Yuck!
The bottom line (Get it?! The bottom line!): Take pictures.
Title in the Form of a Question
Purpose/ Problem
What is the student trying to
find out?
Research
This can be experiential. “I
have noticed that
when….”
Hypothesis
What do you think will
happen? This should be
testable and based on the
research!
Procedures
This is what you did. This
should be listed out stepby-step. Variables should
be noted.
Materials
Listed alphabetically. This
section could be in the
middle column, too.
Results
This tells us what happened.
This should include
evidence of at least 3 trials
and can contain both
quantitative (numbers)
and qualitative
(observations) results.
This is a good place for
pictures.
Data
This section should include
labeled tables and/or
graphs. This is a good
section in which to garner
higher presentation points
with good looking, color
graphs. Sites such as
http://nces.ed.gov/nces
kids/createAgraph/defa
ult.aspx are a good
source.
Summary of Results/
Discussion
The data in a nutshell. What
does it all mean?
Conclusion
What did you learn? Was
the hypothesis
supported or not? What
would the student do
differently next time?
What other experiments
would the student like
to do based on these
results?
Acknowledgments
This is where you credit the
people that helped
(parents, teachers, etc)
by telling what part they
played in the project.
This can also serve as a
place to reference items
utilized for the research
section.
Results, Data, Summary
• Pictures
• Data tables
• Notes
• Graphs
• No opinions – just the facts!
Conclusion
• BASED ON YOUR DATA
was your hypothesis
supported or not?
• What would you change
next time?
• Your thoughts