Science Fair Project Ideas and Tips

Student Information Packet Dear Students, Now is your chance to show off what you love about science! The goal of the Science Expo is to spark your interest in science and share it with others. If you choose to participate, your submission will not be judged as in a typical science fair but you will be awarded a certificate and prize. We want you to have fun with this project! The following types of submissions will be accepted: 1) an EXPERIMENT, following the Scientific Method (see the pages that follow) 2) an INVENTION, including a display board (be sure to explain the motivation behind the invention and the problem solved by the invention) 3) a DISPLAY of a science topics learned in the classroom this year (For example, make a collage that illustrates one or more topics or illustrate step-by-step explanation of a topic or procedure. You can be very creative with this one!) Please note: All submissions must be displayed on a tri-fold display board and may be either store-bought or home-made out of cardboard. Kindergarten through Grade 2   Students may complete a project at home with their parents AND / OR Teachers may submit a single class project or a showcase of what students have learned in science this year (room parents can be called in to help). Grade 3 through Grade 5   Students may submit projects on an individual basis (parents should allow students to complete the majority of the project on their own) OR Students may submit projects as partners or as a group of three students. We hope that all Frances Hazel Reid students want to show off what they love about science! If you have questions, please contact one of the Science Expo committee members. See you at the Science Expo! Timeline Monday, May 5 Registration Form DUE Give the form to your teacher or place it in the Science Expo box in the office. Wednesday, June 11 Project DUE Grades K-4: Take your project to the school library between 7:15 – 8:00 a.m. (afternoon Kindergarten: take your project to the library when you arrive) Grade 5: Please go directly to your classroom. Science Expo committee members will be in the 5th grade hallway to help you register your project. Thursday, June 12 Science Expo Open House for parents, students and staff 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 13 Projects returned to classrooms Please take your project home, unless your teacher wants you to keep it in the classroom. Questions? Contact a Committee Member: Lisa Boris Carol Coloma Amy Fagerli lboris@verizon.net jectofer@aol.com fagerli4@verizon.net Suggested Project Topics Parents and Students: Choosing an appropriate topic will reinforce lessons learned in the classroom. The following topics relate to the Virginia Standards of Learning for each grade level. Other topics may have been covered in class, but are not listed. Your teacher can help answer any questions you might have about other topics. Kindergarten Senses Magnets Water (phases of matter, sink/float) Life cycle of plants Shadows Weather patterns Recycling Conservation of water and energy Grade 1 Force and motion Sound Properties of solids and liquids (some, but not all solids dissolve in water..) Plant needs, part and characteristics Characteristics and needs of animals (including people) The sun (source of heat, light) Night and day/rotation of the Earth Seasons and how they bring about changes in plants, animals, and people Natural resources (limitations of, and reducing, reusing, recycling) Water and air quality Grade 2 Magnetism Changes in matter (evaporation, condensation, melting and freezing) Plant life cycle (flower to fruit) Weather 9temperature, wind, precipitation, measuring weather data) Erosion and weathering Products from plants (cotton, spices, lumber, rubber, medicines, paper…) Grade 3 Simple machines (lever, screw, pulley, wheel, axle, inclined plane, wedge) Compound machines (scissors, wheelbarrow, bicycle) Animal adaptations and behavior (migration, hibernation, camouflage, mimicry…) Food chains (producer, consumer, decomposer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, predator, prey) Diversity, earth’s limited resources, water and land environments Soil (components, origin, importance, conservation) Seasons, phases of the moon, tides Water cycle Human influences on the environment (air and water quality, erosion, conservation…) Energy (sunlight, water wind, fossil fuels, renewable vs. nonrenewable energy) Suggested Project Topics (continued) Grade 4 Force and motion Electricity (conductors, insulators, circuits, static electricity, electromagnets…) Plants (anatomy, reproduction, photosynthesis, dormancy) Ecosystems (plant/animal interactions, adaptations, energy in food web, habitats…) Weather (measurements, meteorological tools, fronts, clouds and storms) Earth, moon and sun relationships (revolution, rotation, seasons, moon phases…) Virginia’s natural resources (water, animals, plants, minerals, rocks, ores, forests, soil…) Grade 5 Sound (wavelength, vibration, frequency, how it is transmitted through solids, liquids & gases) Visible light (spectrum, lightwaves, refraction, reflection…) Matter (atoms, elements, molecules, compounds, mixtures, solutions, effects of heat) Cells (structures, formation) Kingdoms of living things, vascular/nonvascular plants, vertebrates, invertebrates Ocean environments (geological, physical and biological characteristics) Geology (rock cycle, earth history, fossils, plate tectonics, weathering, erosion, human impact) Science Fair Project Ideas and Tips Take a look at the following websites on the Internet for ideas and tips. Parents: Please monitor these sites for content. DiscoverySchool.com – Science Fair Central http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/ Bill Nye The Science Guy http://www.nyelabs.com/ Science Fair Idea Exchange http://scienceclub.org/scifair.html Science News for Kids – Science Fair Tips http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/pages/sciencefairzone/tips.asp Society for Science and the Public – The Scientific Method http://www.societyforscience.org/isef/students/scientific_method.asp Kid Space at The Internet Public Library http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/projectguide/ All Science Fair Projects http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (This site includes great ideas for teachers to use in the classroom. Each activity is correlated to national science standards.) http://www.mcrel.org/whelmers/ Not Allowed Students: The following items may not be displayed at school with your project. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) Living organisms, including plants Taxidermy specimens or parts Preserved vertebrate or invertebrate animals Food (human or animal) Human/animal parts or body fluids (for example: blood, urine) Laboratory/household chemicals including water (Exception: water integral to an enclosed apparatus) Poisons, drugs, controlled substances, hazardous substances or devices (for example: firearms, weapons, ammunition, reloading devices) Dry ice or other sublimating solids Sharp items (for example: syringes, needles, pipettes, knives) Flames or highly flammable materials Batteries with open-top cells Awards, medals, business cards, flags, endorsements and/or acknowledgements (graphic or written) unless the items are an integral part of the project Photographs or other visual presentations depicting vertebrate animals in surgical techniques, dissections, necropsies or other lab procedures Active Internet or e-mail connections as part of displaying or operating the project Glass or glass objects unless deemed by school administration to be an integral and necessary part of the project (Exception: glass that is an integral part of a commercial product such as a computer screen) Any apparatus deemed unsafe by school administration (for example: large vacuum tubes or dangerous ray-generating devices, empty tanks that previously contained combustible liquids or gases, pressurized tanks, etc.) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) The Scientific Method You must show all parts of the Scientific Method on your display board. PURPOSE    What do you want to learn? What ideas are you trying to test? Make this a question. HYPOTHESIS   Predict the answer to your question. Make an educated guess about what you think will happen. Include the facts that you already know and summarize any research you did before you conducted the experiment. MATERIALS  List all the materials you need for the experiment. PROCEDURE   List every step of the experiment. Be very specific. It should be like a recipe, so that anyone could read your procedure and performs the experiment. ANALYSIS    What happened during the experiment? Explain your observations, data and results. Create a table, chart, or graph to show the data and results. CONCLUSION    Was your hypothesis correct? If your results do not support your hypothesis, do not change your hypothesis. Instead give ways you can experiment further to find a solution. If your results do support your hypothesis, make a statement explaining how the conclusion and your hypothesis related to one another. Registration Form Return this form to school by Monday, May 5, 2008. Name ________________________ Grade ________________________ Teacher ______________________ Explain your topic and what you plan to submit to the Science Expo. Check one: experiment invention display ________________________ Student Signature __________________________ Parent/Guardian Signature Registration Form Return this form to school by Monday, May 5, 2008. Name ________________________ Grade ________________________ Teacher ______________________ Explain your topic and what you plan to submit to the Science Expo. Check one: experiment invention display ________________________ Student Signature __________________________ Parent/Guardian Signature Registration Form – Group Project (no more than 3 students in a group, please) Return this form to school by Monday, May 5, 2008. Name ______________ Name ______________ Name ______________ Grade ______________ Grade ______________ Grade ______________ Teacher ____________ Teacher ____________ Teacher ____________ Explain your topic and what you plan to submit to the Science Expo. Check one: experiment invention display Student Signature Parent Signature (It’s OK for one parent to sign for all families. Each parent, however, must agree that they will need to make arrangements for their children to collaborate on the project.) Student Signature Student Signature