SCIENCE FAIR HANDBOOK Preschool through 3 rd grade

Transcription

1 BLUE MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARY SCIENCE FAIR HANDBOOK Preschool through 3 rd grade Project Set-Up-February 23 by 12 noon Judging-February 24, 9:00 am Science Fair Open House- PUBLIC WELCOMEI February 24, 5:30-7:00 pm Awards Ceremony-6:30 pm

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3 Welcome to Blue Mountain Elementary Eighth Annual Science Fair! As a student at Blue Mountain Elementary School of Science, Technology, and Inquiry, you have been learning about the scientific method throughout the school year. Now you can use your knowledge to design and carry out your own science experiment. This can be time-consuming, so plan your time wisely. When your project is complete, you will have learned something new about science and will use methods that professional scientists use every day. This a very exciting and important learning experience! What Is a Science Fair Project? Simply put, a science fair project is an experi ment. It is NOT just a research project, although the best science fair projects do involve plenty of research. Your first step is to decide what area of science is of most interest to you. Then, you need to narrow your ideas to a focus question that you can test experimentally and predict what you think will happen when you perform your experiment. Always keep in mind the process that you follow in your science notebook at school. This process, called the scientific method, is the key to a good science fair project. Be sure to have your science notebook available from the start. It can be a binder, composition or spiral notebook, anything that you can use to write down research, notes, data, observations, etc. during the design and execution of your experiment. Your science notebook will be turned in and graded at the science fair, along with a display board that you create to summarize your experiment. In addition to your science notebook and your display board, you will be graded on your interview with one or more science fair judges on the day of the science fair. Resources This handbook, created by the Science Fair Committee and Blue Mountain Elementary Staff, provides specific details about what must be included in your science notebook and on your science fair display board, as well as tips for how to make your science fair project the best it can be. It also contains the Science Fair Project Proposal and Experimental Plan forms you need to submit, a copy of the scoring procedure, and a helpful timeline/project checklist. Your teachers will gladly provide answers to any questions you may have regarding the science fair, and may suggest ways to focus or improve your science fair project. Be sure to follow the timeline provided to make sure you have plenty of time to complete all your work in time for the Science Fair on February 24.

4 Rules 1. This handbook is for students who wish to complete an individual or partner project in Preschool through 3rd grade: All students at Blue Mountain will participate in the Science Fair. Preschool, kindergarten, first-, second- and third-grade classes will complete a class project at school, but students in these grades are highly encouraged to complete a second project of their own or with a sibling (or friend) in preschool through fourth grade. If a fourth-grade student would like to complete a project with a sibling from preschool through third grade, he/she may do so, but must also complete an individual project or with another fourth grader. Working on an individual or partner project is very valuable for the younger students; it will help them grow as learners and prepare them for lives of inquiry and critical thinking. 2. Teachers and parents may advise and assist students, but they may not design or conduct the experiment, build the exhibit, or make any entries into the science notebook. 3. All students must submit two forms, their Science Fair Project Proposal and their Experimental Plan, to their teacher for approval. These forms can be found at the end of this handbook. The proposal must be turned in and approved starting Wednesday, December 16, 2015; the Experimental Plan by Wednesday, January 13, Science fair projects must fit into one of the following areas of study: Earth & Space Science: planets, gravity, natural disasters, soil, climate change, etc. Physical Science: chemistry, electricity, magnetism, optics, mechanical processes, etc. Life Science: anything related to the study of living things-microorganisms, plants, animals, humans, including cells, genetics, etc. 5. Experiments that involve starvation or any type of invasive procedures performed on animals or humans (constituting cruelty) are prohibited. 6. Project displays must be free-standing with no part of the exhibit attached to walls or tables.all exhibits will be displayed on a standard, trifold project board. These can be provided to students if needed. 7. Display space is limited to 4-feet wide, 2.5-feet deep, and 4-feet high. The school can provide name/title cards and section labels (Focus Question, Prediction, etc.) for the displays. These will be available when the teacher approves the project, but you may choose to make your own.

5 8. Unacceptable items for display: The following list identifies items that are strictly prohibited from inclusion in, on, or near your display. Essentially, anything that is or may be hazardous to the exhibitor, another student, or the public is not allowed. Questions may be addressed to teachers. Live animals Microbial cultures or fungi, living or dead Animal or human parts, except for teeth, hair, nails, and dried animal bones Liquids other than water Chemicals and/or their containers including caustic or acidic materials and household cleaners Open or concealed flames Batteries with open-top cells Combustible or explosive materials Aerosol cans containing household solvents Controlled substances, poisons, or drugs Any hazardous equipment or device Sharp items (syringes, knives, needles, etc.) Gases 9. Teacher approval is required for all electrical switches and cords needed for exhibits. Students must provide their own extension cords or other electrical equipment. 10.Blue Mountain Elementary and the PTO assume no responsibility for loss or damage to any exhibit or display items. 11.Science projects will be graded during school hours and will include a few minutes of discussion with a panel of science fair judges. This interview is part of the science fair project grade. 12.1ndividual/partner projects will be scored based on the Science Fair Grading Sheet (included in this handbook). Students should use this sheet as a guide as they develop their projects. 13.Students completing this project alone or with a partner (a sibling or a friend) will be acknowledged at the awards ceremony with a certificate for their efforts. No first, second or third place designations will be given.

6 Scientific Method First, think about an area of study of interest to you. Machines? Astronomy? Computers? Plants? Rocks? What questions do you have about that area of study? A good scientist might read ageappropriate books, look in encyclopedias, or write to their local, federal, state, or county agencies for information. They might also talk to professionals in that area of study or use the Internet (with adult supervision). Decide on a focus question. Remember that focus means "to settle on one thing" or "one point of concentration." Make sure that you can design experiment to answer your question. Do not have too many variables (things that can change). However, you should not be able to answer "yes" or "no" to your focus question. See the writing prompts at the end of this handbook. You may use these prompts on your display board and in your science notebook to help you. Prediction: Next, 'guess' the answer to your question. What do you think will happen? Your prediction (or hypothesis) may be something like this: "I think people like brown socks better than white socks because brown socks don't get as dirty." Don't worry if you are incorrect. The predictions made in some of the best science fair projects are incorrect. An incorrect prediction automatically means you learned something, a main goal of science fair projects. Your Science Fair Project Proposal is due to your teacher December 16, 2015 (form can be found at the end of this handbook). Your teacher may talk to you about how to improve your project, or allow you to pursue your process as you already described. Your teacher wants to help you do your best, so listen to his/her suggestions. Procedure: Now, get to work planning your experiment, so you can address your focus question and test if your prediction is correct! This is one of the most important parts of your project and involves several steps. You need to answer the following questions in order to determine exactly what you are going to do: What are your variables? A variable is any factor, trait, or condition that can exist in differing amounts or types. An experiment usually has three kinds of variables: independent, dependent, and controlled. The independent variable is the one that you change during an experiment. A good experiment has only one independent variable You observe the dependent variable to see how it responds to the change made to the independent variable The controlled variables are the factors or conditions that you keep the same or constant throughout the experiment.

7 Question Does heating a cup of water dissol ve more sugar? How fast does a cand le burn? Independent Variable (what you cha nge) Dependent Variable (what you obser ve) Controlled Variables (what you keep the same) Temperature of the water Amount of sugar dissol ved Same type of sugar used Water from the same source Ti me left burning Height of ca ndle Same type of candle used Same location or position Do you have a control group? This is a sample for which you measure the dependent variable just like the other parts of your experiment, but which is not exposed to the independent variable. In the water-sugar example above, your control would be the amount of sugar that dissolves in water that has not been heated (i.e., water at room temperature). What is the control group in the candle example? What materials do you need? What are all the steps you need to do the experiment? How long will your experiment take? Do you have enough time? It is a good idea to do the experiment at least twice to make sure the results are the same. What do you need to measure and how do you record it? Your Experimental Plan is due to your teacher by January 13, The form can be found at the end of this handbook. Once your teacher approves your Experimental Plan, you can proceed. Don't forget to keep track of everything you are doing in your science notebook and use the writing prompts if it makes it easier! Data: Write a step-by-step description of everything you do in your experiment. Be sure to list how much of each material you used, how often you took measurements, what type of equipment you used, etc. If the brand name of the materials or equipment is important, include it as well. Your description of your procedure should be very specific and include enough detail that someone reading it can repeat your experiment and get the same results. Example: Place two bean seeds %" deep in the sand. Follow your detailed procedure. Take pictures during the process. Have fun! Measure and compare the results of your experiment. You may want to show them in a graph or in a table, through pictures, or keep samples. Claims and Evidence: Describe what your senses detect when you conduct your experiment. What does it smell like? Did it bubble or fizz? State what happened, usually in just a couple of sentences. No detail is required. For example: The water in jar A turned blue; the water in jar B turned orange; and the water in jar C did not change color.

8 Conclusion: Restate your focus question as a statement. Give a detailed description of everything that happened. Indicate whether your prediction was correct or not, and what worked and what didn't. Reflection: Explain why you think things turned out the way they did and what you would you do differently the next time. Remember, disproving your prediction (hypothesis) can be just as valuable as discovering it was correct. Sometimes things that seem obvious aren't. For example, many people who don't live in Colorado think it is snowy and cold here all winter, because we live at such a high altitude. This is obvious to them. But, those of us who live here know it can be sunny and warm in the middle of February. We've actually "tested" this prediction by living here.

9 Science Notebook Format Remember; use your science notebook to describe your project from start to finish. Your science notebook must contain each of the elements described below. This is the same format you use in your scientist notebook in class and in MESA. Title page o Project title (Be clear, descriptive, creative.) o Your name o School o City, state, and zip code o Date with year Area of Study o Include why this area is of interest to you. Introduction o Include information from your research that helped you formulate your focus question. o Explain what you want to get out of your experiment. Focus Question o How? o Why? o What? Prediction (see writing prompts) o I predict because o I think because Procedure o List all of your equipment in detail (size, type, brand [if necessary]). o List your materials and amounts of each. o List your variables. Indicate which you held constant and what you changed and why. o List your procedural steps. What you did and how you did it should be consistent with the materials list. o First o Then o Next o Last o Finally Data o o o Include a table or graph of your observations (daily, beginning/end, etc.). Show information collected from your controls and your experiments. Stick to the facts. Do not include opinions in the data section. o I noticed Claims and Evidence o Describe what you observed. (Report only the facts. The "why" is in the Conclusion.) o I (know) claim because (evidence) o I claim and my evidence is Conclusion o Restate your focus question as a statement and whether you proved or disproved it. Why? What did you learn? o I learned

10 Reflection o Explain any problems you had and how you would fix them in the future. How were your results different than you thought they would be? o Indicate any new questions that you now have regarding this topic and that you could try to answer in the future. o I still wonder about o What would happen if. Bibliography or References o List any references you used following the format described in this handbook. This includes any books, web sites, videos, etc. that you used. Acknowledgements o Give credit to anyone who helped with your experiment. o Thank anyone who helped you with supplies or expenses. o Don't forget to thank your little sister for being careful not to knock over your experiment while it was set up in the dining room.

11 Display Board This is an important part of your project. You want to put together a board that is easy to understand, visually appealing (looks good), and fully describes your experiment. If your display looks good, people will want to look at it; if not, they may just walk past. You worked hard on your science fair project and want to interest others in it, so take some time to make it engaging. People love to look at pictures and see parts of your experiment. You may want to exhibit items in front of your display such as a model, tools, interesting research pieces, etc. Some items may not be allowed at school (see Rules and/or check with your teacher before bringing in anything). Name/title cards and section labels for your display can be provided by the school. Please ask your teacher if you would like these. You do not need to use the labels provided, but you do need to have all the required labels on your display board! Labels are: Title, Name, and Grade with Teacher Focus Question Prediction Procedure Data Claims and Evidence Conclusion Reflection Please, do not hesitate to use the writing prompts on the display board. They are a great way to make sure all parts of your experiment are present. Dos and Don'ts for Displays Do use bright and/or contrasting colors. Do put things together neatly. Arrange items with lots of space in between. Do use rubber cement or double-sided tape to attach things to your board. Don't leave large empty spaces on the board. Fill in with graphs, pictures, etc. Do add photographs to the display, if possible. Don't leave the table in front of the display empty. Your science notebook must be on the table in front of your display. Use models or tools, if applicable, to fill the space. Don't hang electrical equipment from the board so that a cord hangs down in front. It is unsightly and a hazard. Do put your name, teacher, and date on the back of the display board. Do check all items on the display for accuracy. Do have fun!

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13 Primary Science Fair Project questions: Judges will ask these questions, then give feedback (oral and written) to the class 1. What was your focus question? 2. What was your prediction? 3. What was your procedure? 4. What variables were important in your project? 5. What was your claim? 6. What evidence did you find to back up your claim? 7. What was fun about your project?

14 8. What did you learn? 9. If you could, what would you do differently next time? 10. What do you wonder about now?

15 Writing Prompts Please cut and use these in your science notebook and display board to help you remember all parts of the scientific method, and to make the process a little bit easier. My Focus Question is OR I wonder

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17 I predict These are the steps I will take to complete my experiment:

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19 This is my data: Claims and Evidence: I saw I smelled I heard I felt

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21 My conclusion is Reflection: I still wonder about: OR Next time I do an experiment, I will

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23 Project Checklist Name: 1. Science Fair Project Proposal (Due 12/16/15) 2. Experimental Plan (Due 01/13/16) 3. Display Board (Due 02/23/16) Title Focus Question Prediction Procedure Data Claims and Evidence Conclusion Reflection 4. Science Notebook (Due 02/23/16) ***PROJECT DUE 02/23/16, SET UP BY 12 NOON*** ***SCIENCE FAIR OPEN HOUSE 02/24/16***

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25 Science Fair Project Proposal Name: Teacher: Date: Proposal Due: December 16, 2015 Experiment: Approved Please revise and resubmit 1. Area of Study (please circle one) Earth and Space Science Physical Science Life Science 2. My focus question is: 3. My prediction is: I predict that The purpose of my experiment is: I want to do this experiment because... I want to learn more about

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27 Experimental Plan Name: Due: January 13, My focus question is 2. I predict the following will happen 3. These variables are constant (unchanged) 4. This one variable (my independent variable) I will change 5. I will count or measure this variable (my dependent variable) 6. Things that I will need for my experiment are: 7. The procedure I will follow to test my variable is 8. I will observe this

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