Stoney Creek Science Fair Information Night

1. Stoney CreekScience Fair Information Night

2. Why Should You Do A Project? • You will learn to think like a scientist. • Real world application • Hands-on approach to learning • Allows students to investigate what they are interested in • Doing a project can be lots of fun!

3. #1- The Planning PhaseMost detailed part…includes:Log Book…..Log Book…..Log Book • Deciding what to do • Doing some research • Forming a hypothesis • Writing out the experiment plan KEY: Keep It Simple!!

4. #2- The Experimentation PhaseThe FUN part…includes:Hands-on….Hands-on…….Hands-on • Actually conducting the experiment • Collecting and recording the data • Seeing if the hypothesis was correct

5. #3- The Artistic PhaseThe creative part…includes:Presentation……Presentation • Putting the information on a Tri-fold board • Having an organized plan • Creating a display

6. Working Together • Students • Work • Responsibility Science Fair Success • Teachers • Step-by-step assignments • Checkpoints graded along the way • Parents • Encourage • Answer questions • Supervise safety • Come to the fair!

8. Display

9. Ask a question. • This is the foundation or Problem Statement • If your child identifies a question that is safe and can be answered through experimentation, the rest of the project will follow. • A good question can be investigated (tested) and contains variables. • A poor question is merely a demonstration or is too general. • Problem statement must be approved by the teacher before continuing with the project. • Be sure this is NOT a demonstration. It MUST test data.

10. Hypothesis • The student will predict what is going to be the results of the investigation. • The hypothesis should not be changed if it is incorrect. • The hypothesis is just an educated guess. • Must be stated using “if”, “then” and “because” statement. • Example: “If Brawny, Viva, and Bounty paper towels are tested for their absorbency, then Bounty will absorb the most water. I believe this because Bounty is “The quicker picker upper.”

11. Variables • These are all the factors that affect the investigation. • There are three types of variables: • Independent Variable: what changes, • Dependent Variable: what happens by itself, what you are measuring • Controlled Variable: what stays the same. • The variables MUST be labeled on the display board in the materials list.

12. DATA!! DATA!! DATA!!

13. Conclusion • Students write about the results of the investigation • Ask yourself these questions before writing your conclusion • Did you get the results you expected to get? If not how were the results different? • Were there any unexpected problems or occurrences that may have affected the results of your investigation? • Do you think you collected sufficient data? (Were there enough trials? Samples?) • Do I need to revise my original hypothesis? (If you write a revised hypothesis, DO NOT use it to replace your original hypothesis for this project!

14. Oral Presentations • During the week that the Display Board is due, students will be required to present their projects orally to the class. • It is important that students follow the guidelines in the handouts to ensure that they meet all of the requirements for this assignment. • Students MUST NOT read the information from the board. They need to address their classmates and maintain eye contact to demonstrate their knowledge of their project.