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By Doug Steward

A Science Fair Project! What am I going todo for such an impossible assignment?

Is it hard to come up with good ideasthat are interesting?

Are you lost withoutany hope?

Does it seem that everyone is Does it seem that everyone is having troublehaving trouble

and nobody is able to help?and nobody is able to help?

Where do you look for ideas that do well?

What can you do that will be helpful?

Who can you talk to for ideasand helpful hints?

Many Monte Vista Students have done well in the past.

Talk to them.

Many parents are full of good ideas and expert help.

Newspapers, magazines and other newssources are helpful in showing what ishappening in the world around you.

They are great sources for ideas.

What kind of hobbies do you have?Hobbies are full of great science fair ideas.

What can you do to improve yourcompetition skills?

Are graphite fishing rodsreally better?

What things are you interested in. Activities such as music are sources for some great projects.

Is there a correlation between life style and musicaltaste?

Is there a mathematical basis for music?

What affects tone quality?

Or

Or

What sports are you interested in?

What can you do to be a better high jumper,hurdler, or sprinter?

Do your pets do anything thatinterest you?

Many projects can be designed todiscover information about habitsdiet, or health.

Has a personal experience generatedany interest in some area that you can study?

If you like maththere are manypossible projectsthat areinteresting.

The first thing you should do is develop a good question.

Something you really want an answer to.

Like…

What bugs are in the nearby river? Or

How sharp should your ice skates be?

Then you find out everything you canabout that subject.

The library is a great place to start.

The staff in the library is trained to help you in all kinds of areas

Computer searches can be good.Especially if you live a long way from thesource of information you need.

But…

Be careful there is a lot of bad informationout there.

Professionals in the community are a great source of help and can provide most of your much needed help.

Then develop a hypothesis.

A hypothesisis a possible answer to yourquestion.

What you think the correct answer is.

Like

Lunar phases do affect thetime of day fish feed.

Now you need to design anexperiment to test your answer.

Your experiment is the mostvital part of your project.

You will need to make observations…

that will support or contradict yourhypothesis.

These observations must berecorded and organized.

You will be expected to account forevery part of your experiment.

Remember, observations mean verylittle unless they are compared …

to a control.

An experiment is only as good as thecontrols that are used for comparisons.

If you have not made goodcomparisons against knownquantities then you reallyhave no idea how much change has actually takenplace.

A common mistake is that peopledon’t make enough observations…

because the test group is too small.

The more individual tests you makethe more accurate your results willbe.

Always make sure to record everythingyou see

Keeping an eye out for the unexpected.

Compare your data with what otherpeople have come up with.

Always evaluate what you are doing.

Did you use accurate techniques?

Did you have good controls?

Was your test population large enough?

Are your records clear and easy to read?

How many variables did you have?

Did you account for the unexpected?

When you complete your experimentyou need to decide what the answer to your problem is.

Was your hypothesis correct?

If it was wrong, how would youchange it?

Hopefully you kept accurate recordsof your journey.

Remember, the judges will belooking for your records.

All your records, data analysis, andconclusions should be available andeasy to read.

Now it is up to the judges to determinehow well you did…

and there are some things you can doto assure an award winning year.

You need to develop a display thatwill tell the story of what you did.

This display must besturdy and selfsupporting.

It needs to be attractiveand easy to read.

Here is a good pattern to follow when youare designing your display.

Models can be helpful but be careful they do not overwhelm the restof the display.

Pictures are an excellentway of providinginformation

and

showing changes.

Information can also bedisplayed in the formof graphs.

Make sure everythingis neat and welllabeled.

This display is wellorganized, attractiveand very informative.

This display uses some art to attractpeople, but notice all the essentialparts are present.

The project title should be well displayedin a prominent place.

Your display is only part of thepresentation.

You will be expected to explainyour findings to a group of judges.

It would be helpful to practice presentingyour understanding of your experimentation.

Be careful that you don’t plan a speech.

That will turn off the judges.

But it is good to organize your ideas and…

Practice, practice, practice, practice.

Remember the judge’s job is to figureout how much you know.

So be ready for some really hardquestions.

Look them in the eyes.

Shake their hands and introduce yourself.

Look professionaland beconfident inyour abilities.

Remember, the judges are probably experts in your project subject.

Don’t try to make up the data.

The judges will know the difference.

Science fair competition is not easy.

It is full of hard work,

and high expectations.

tense moments…

You can take the science fairexperience all the way to anInternational adventure.

Traveling with old friends or…

Making new friends.

A person’s “good Luck” has been defined as a time when his/herpreparation meets with anopportunity.

A science fair project is an opportunity.

Can you prepare to meet the challenge?