The Perfect Science Fair Project
First, parents should realize that successful science fair projects do not have to be expensive or time-consuming. The secret lies in giving careful thought to the end result during the planning stage. This also requires allowing plenty of time for completion of the project. It is a simple step but one that can lead to frustration on the part of both the student and the parents if it is not given the attention it deserves.
Next, let’s take a look at the necessary parts of our “perfect science project.” Keep in mind that your particular school’s science fair rules and guidelines may use different names for each of the sections of a science fair project. However, all projects have pretty much the same sections. Let’s start with the first one.
All science fair projects require a title. The purpose of your title is fairly obvious. It is there to tell the judges and observers what your project is about. However, that doesn’t mean that your title has to be dull and boring. In fact, science teachers and project coaches should encourage their students’ titles to be creative and catchy. The title of the science fair project should grab the interest of the judges as well as others while at the same time describing the project well enough so that it leaves no doubt as to what the student was studying. Even though the title comes first it is usually written after a good question to study is chosen.
The second section of the science fair project is the background or purpose section of the project. This contains background information about the project’s subject as well as why this topic was selected. It doesn’t need to be long, but it must tell the judges what they need to know to understand why this particular project was chosen for study. Failure to adequately and concisely cover this section will result in a lower score for the science fair project.
The next section is the most critical and essential part of the science fair project. It is also probably the most difficult. This section is the question. The reason it is the most difficult part of a science fair project is because it involves coming up with a good subject to research. The subject of a science fair project should be one that both interests the student and is testable. If the student is researching a project that interests her, then she will probably enjoy it more and stick with it long enough to complete the project.
Most teachers and science fair coaches encourage their students to choose projects that are different from what has been done before. If a new idea cannot be thought of, or the idea is impractical, perhaps the student might explore a new twist on an old idea. It should be stated at this point that making “volcanoes” or “tornados” are not good science fair projects. First, questions that testable are hard to come up with for these projects. Second, if a good question that is testable is thought of, the resources and materials needed to test that question are not generally available to the average person. Science fair projects that require special equipment are not feasible for most students and parents. A good rule of thumb is to keep it simple.
A hypothesis or prediction stems from the question. What will be the result of testing the question? What will happen? The question and the hypothesis go hand in hand. The whole project revolves around these two sections. It is a good idea to first write down the question and then make the prediction. This simple act will give direction to the science fair project and make its completion easier.
The fifth section of the science fair project is the materials and methods section. After the question and hypothesis are written, the student must decide what materials are needed to conduct the experiment and what steps must be taken to complete the project. Lots of photos and charts and graph should be used during this stage. Students often discover during this stage that things don’t go as they had intended and they have to modify their methods. Every effort should be made at this point by the teacher or science fair coach to encourage the student. The student needs to know that they didn’t fail. This is how real science works.
In the results section of the project the student will show the judges and readers the data from their experiment. Charts and graphs are encouraged. These lend themselves to a visual representation of the data that is easy to understand. Do not interpret the data in this section. That takes place in the last section.
We are finally at the conclusion section. This is where the student tells the judges and readers what was discovered during the experiment. Did the data support the hypothesis or not? What was learned? If the experiment were to be conducted again, what would be done differently?
A final note for science fair projects: Teachers and science fair coaches should emphasize to students that getting the right answers to their questions is not the intent of the project. The perfect science fair project involves the student in a journey of discovery that is driven by curiosity about the subject. The perfect science fair project should open up the minds of young people to the joy of learning more about the world around them.
