creating your scientific poster - community and school ... your... · creating your scientific...

Creating Your Scientific Poster The guidelines below were created for 3rd-6th grade students to help them

create a scientific poster in Microsoft Office (PowerPoint) 2017.

PhotoCredit:ManzoElementary3rdgradestudentspresentingtheirscientific

postersinthegarden.PhotostakenbyMosesThompson,May2013.Introduction

Thinkofyourposterasastorythatdescribestheresearchyouhaveworkedsohardon

throughouttheschoolyear.Usethispostertoexplainafewmajorpointsinyourresearchprocess.Makeitinteresting!Givepeopleenoughinformationsothattheywanttoknowmorebutcanunderstandthemainconceptsandfindingsofyourwork.Therewillbetimeforpeopletoaskyouaboutthesmalldetails,personalprocess,andchallengesofyourworkafteryoupresenttheposter.

WewillbecreatingpostersusingMicrosoftPowerPoint2016.BycreatingaposterinPowerPointratherthanonpaper,wecanprintlargepostersthatcanbelaminated,shownatpresentations,andmore.CreatingaposterinPowerPointmeansthatwewilluseonlyoneslide.Onceyoufollowtheinstructionstosetupyourposter,youwilldiscoverthatallofyourgraphs,pictures,andwordswillfitontothisoneslide.Eachscienceteamwillbecreatingoneposter.Workingtogether,listening,andbeingrespectfulofeachother’sideaswillbeessentialforthesuccessofnotonlyyourposter,butofyourpresentation.

Setting Up Your Slide Step1:OpenPowerPoint,chooseBlankPresentationandclickOK.Step2:ChoosetheBlankslidelayoutandclickOK.Optional:ifyouwouldliketoaddabackground,itcannotbefullcolor.Therecanbepopsofcolororasmalldesigninthecorner,butwecannotprintaposterthatdoesnothaveawhitebackgroundcanusealotofinkandgettobeveryexpensive.Step3:GotoDesigninthetoolbarandclickCustomize.Fromthedropdownmenu,clickSlideSizeandthenPageSetup.Step4:EntertheHeightandWidthofyourposter.Heightis36inches.Widthis48inches.ClickOK.Step5:Addtextboxestodescribeyourwork.GotoInsert,andclickonTextBox.Draw(holddownthemouseanddrag)theoutlineofyourtextboxintheplaceandshapethatyouwantyourwordstogoonyourposter.Imaginesomeoneisreadingyourposter.Makesureyouhaveaddedyourtextboxesanddescriptionsinaclearorderthatiseasyforsomeonetofollow.

Creating Your Scientific Poster Creating Your Story PosterTitle:Comeupwithatitlethatwilldescribeyourprojectwell.Makethisinteresting!Thisisthefirstthingpeoplewillsee.Makesurethepoint(howlargethelettersare)isatleast60.Authors:Thisisthefirstandlastnamesofeachstudentinyourscienceteam.Placethesenamesinalphabeticalorderbasedonthefirstletterofeachperson’slastname.Placeacommabetweeneachperson.Makesurethepoint(howlargethelettersare)isatleast45.Objective:Usingcompletesentences,writeaboutwhatyouwantedtodiscover.Whatwasyourmainresearchquestion?Whydoyoufindthisquestionimportantforhumansortheenvironment?Makesurethepoint(howlargethelettersare)isatleast24.Hypothesis:Usingcompletesentences,writewhatyouroriginalhypothesiswasbeforeyoubeganyourresearch.Whatdidyoupredictwouldbetheanswertoyourresearchquestion?Whydidyoupredictthatthiswouldbetheanswer?Makesurethepoint(howlargethelettersare)isatleast24.Methods:Usingcompletesentences,describehowyoucollectedinformationtoansweryourresearchquestionandtestyourhypothesis.Whatinformationdidyoucollect?Whattoolsdidyouuse?Howoftendidyoucollectdata?Whydidyouusethesetoolsandmethodsoverotheroptions?Makesurethepoint(howlargethelettersare)isatleast24.Findings:Hereisyouropportunitytousecharts,graphs,pictures,andmore.Usetheinformationyoucollectedallyeartosummarize(givingabriefstatementofthemainpoints)yourfindings.Whatdoyouwantpeopletoknowaboutyourresearchquestion?Whatwerethemostinterestingpoints,themostcommonfindings,andthefindingsthathelpedyouansweryourmainquestion?Makesurethepoint(howlargethelettersare)isatleast24.Conclusion:Usingcompletesentences,tellyouraudiencehowyouwouldansweryourmainquestionknowingwhatyouknownow.Wasyouroriginalhypothesiscorrect,ordidyoufindoutsomethingnew?Whyisyourresearchimportantandhowdoesithelpusunderstandpollinators,plants,humansortheenvironment?Pictures:Inordertomakeyourstorymorevisual,youmayaddupto4picturesandseveralgraphs,asneeded.Picturesneedtoimproveyourstoryandbeontopic.Forexample,ifyoufocusedonacertainspeciesofbee,youmaywanttoincludeapictureofit.Picturesmustbelabeledwithacaption(ashort,1sentencedescriptionofwhatthepictureis)byplacingasmalltextboxbelowthepicture.Thislabelneedstobelessthan24point.Makesuretosaywherethepictureisfromifitisnotyourown.Thisiscalledcitingyoursource.Andfinally,makesurethatallpicturesareahighresolutionsothatwhentheyareprintedtheydonotbecomeblurry.Remember!Throughouttheresearchprocess,youdidnotfail.Justbecausesomethingdidnotgothewayyouhadplanned,oryoudidn’tgetallofthedatayouwanted,oryoudidn’thaveenoughtimetodomore….YOUDIDGREAT!Thiswasallpartofthelearningprocessandofbeingascientist.Tellpeopleaboutthisprocessinyourposter,theywillwanttoknowyourexperience.

Creating Your Scientific Poster

Which Plant Is Taller? Manzo’s Mini LEO Project Authors: Julian Archer, Estevan Godoy, Nayeli Tautimez

Objective: Our objective was

to study how the ice plant

and barrel clover germinate

in volcanic soil. Also, our

objective was to think and

act like Biosphere 2

scientists. We wanted to see

how changes on our mini

LEO landscape looked in real

landscapes.

Methods: Our methods were

to collect temperature data,

water our plants, and observe

our plants and soil. We

measured plant height and

width, did background research

on our plants, and recorded

daily temperatures.

Findings: We noticed that the

ice plant did not grow 3-4 inches

tall but grew 2-3 inches wide.

We also saw that the seeds and

soil barely moved down the

slope.

Hypothesis: Our

hypothesis is that the ice

plant can grow 3-4 inches

tall. Also, the water will

push the seeds down the

slope.

Conclusion: The big LEO at

Biosphere 2 helps scientists

study plant growth on

landscapes. Our mini LEO helps

those scientists by knowing

which plants can grow in

volcanic tephra.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Ice Plant Barrel Clover

Inch

es

AVERAGE PLANT HEIGHT IN MINI LEO

Figure 1 (Left): The mini

LEO team. Figure 2 (Right): The LEO at

Biosphere 2.

Figure 3(Top): Watering our mini LEO. Figure 4 (Bottom left): Comparing our volcanic soil to

Figure 5 (Bottom right): regular composting soil at

Manzo that has much more nutrients.

Figure 6 (Left): Ice plant.

Figure 7 (Top right): Barrel

clover. Figure 8 (Bottom right): Mini LEO plant

height.

POSTER GRADING & PARTICIPATION SHEET

Criteria

PointsPossible

Self-Review/Self-Score

PointsEarned(TeacherScore)

Poster

AccuracyofDataAmountofData/QualityofEvidenceRepresentingConsistentDataTopicMatchesPosterTextInformationDisplayedisonTopic

10

DirectionsFollowedFinishedonTime(Deadline____________)Formatting/PunctuationNeatnessofPosterLayout

10

OrganizationofPosterIncludes:Title/AuthorsObjective/HypothesisMethodsFindingsConclusion

10

IncludesData/TablesIncludesResultsDrawings/Pictures/VisualDataDetails/Numbers/Measurements/Units

10

Presentation

SpeakingclearlyEyecontactLoudvoice

10

EachGroupMemberPresentsPresentationisRehearsedGroupMembersWorkTogether

15

Studentscananswerquestionsaboutresearch,results,methods,conclusion,etc.

10

GroupStaysonTopictoExplainResearchStatesImportanceofTopicAudienceUnderstandsWhatisSaid

10

DemonstrateUnderstandingofInformationReferencingPosterinPresentation

10

TotalScore

100

ScoresheetcreatedbyBarbaraHurley,RinconHighSchool