February 3, 2006
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Uwchlan Hills Science Fair 2006
February 3, 2006 |
This step=by-step guide (also available as a downloadable pdf) will keep you organized while you do your science fair project.
1. Wonder
What do you want to investigate? Take a look at the list of categories - which one interests you most? What have you always wondered about? Ask questions - why? how? Can you figure out a solution for a problem that faces the world today? Go to the library and look through science fair project idea books, science magazines. Look online. Listen to commercials - are their claims true? Fill in the blank: How does _____ affect ______? Talk to your friends, your teachers, your parents.
2. Research
Now that you have your topic, it’s time to find out more about it. It’s time to start writing in your lab book (use a notebook or use our lab book sheet). Date each entry, write down what you find out - and where you found the information. Ask your librarian to help you find books and magazines. Google your topic and see what other people have written. Talk to experts.
3. Hypothesize
Look back at your research. Use what you have learned to create a question - decide exactly what you want to find out. Make sure your question is specific and measurable. Now make a prediction, a hypothesis - what do you think will happen? Write it down in your lab book.
4. Design
How can you answer your question? What materials will you need? Is it something you can test at home or do you need to find laboratory space? How will you put your materials together to test your prediction? Your design is like a recipe - list the ingredients, your materials, then write down the steps you’ll take. Write your experiment plan in your lab book, or use ourdownloadable form.
5. Experiment
Run your experiment. Follow your plan. If you can’t follow your plan, be sure to write in your lab book what happened to make you revise your plan. Watch what happens and write down what you see - these are your observations. Take measurements - length, weight, temperature, pH, volume - these are your data. Take pictures to document the process.
6. Analyze
Organize your observations and data. How do they fit together? What do they mean? Do you need to draw a graph to illustrate how much change was observed? How does what you found out fit with the research you did? How does it fit with your predictions? Write what you think in your lab book.
7. Conclude
You’re almost done. Connect your results to your hypothesis. Was your prediction right? If your results don’t support your prediction, why not? Did something go wrong in your experiment? If you did it over again, would you change anything?
8. Write
It's time to write your abstract. It'll be simple if you’ve been keeping a lab book. Follow the instructions for abstract writing. Be complete, but be brief.
9. Create
You’ve done the science - now you can create your display. Make a tri-fold poster 
that presents what you did. Use the pictures you took of the experiment in action. Draw pictures to illustrate the concepts you investigated. Include graphs of your data. Your poster can teach what you learned to the people who go to the science fair.
10. Present
Ta-da! You made it to the science fair. You followed the scientific method: you made a prediction, you tested the prediction, you explained how the results supported your prediction - or challenged it. Organize your thoughts so you can tell people what you did and how you did it, and what it all means. Do you have any ideas about the next experiment you’d like to do? Congratulations, scientist - stay curious!
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