Syracuse Arts Academy
7th-9th Grade Science Fair
It’s that time again: Science Fair! Science fair is a long-term assignment beginning the week of January 17, 2014 and culminating with our science fair on March 3-5, 2014. All students enrolled in junior high grades at SAA are required to participate in the science fair this year. Your science fair project is part of your grade. Participation is mandatory for all students. You will be given time to work on science fair in class, as determined by your science teacher. Students may complete a project individually or in a group with a maximum of three students.
Project Description
- A science fair project is an investigation, where you form a hypothesis, design and conduct experiments, record data, and draw conclusions from your data to answer your question. This will include a written report, a project data book, a visual display and required forms that will be kept at your exhibit during judging.
Written Report Requirements
Your written report must be typewritten and double spaced. Margins can be no more than 1” and font size no larger than 12 point. There is no length requirement; however, the following criteria must be complete.
- Title page
- Purpose of your research or hypothesis
- Step-by-step explanation of your experiment
- Results: Organize results of your data book in chart or graph form. (Keep careful written records of your results in a data book. Record the day and time you make observations. Be as specific as you can about the amount, size, and type of materials you use.)
- Discussion: Analysis of your extensive research.
- Conclusion: Summary of what you learned and the influence on our lives.
- Bibliography:
You will be given more detailed instructions on the written report in class.
Research Source Guidelines
Students are required to research a variety of sources for their project and list them in their bibliography. Students should include at least one book, one magazine/journal, and one website in their research. When selecting sources be sure to use reputable ones. Due to the ease of manipulation and unreliability of Wikipedia, students are not allowed to use that website. Guidelines for writing your bibliography in will be made available by your teacher.
You will be given more detailed instructions on conducting library research in class.
Visual Display Requirements
Your visual display should be creative and eye-catching. People, including judges, are drawn to attractive visual displays. Your display should also pertain directly to your topic. Your display must sit on a table. It cannot sit on the floor. The dimensions of your display may not exceed 32” wide, 18” deep (standard display board size), and 72” high. Your name cannot be on the front of the board. However, your name should be on the back of the board so it can be returned to the correct student.
Your goal is to make it easy for the viewer to understand your project. You want to attract and inform. Your board is the visual summary of your work, so be concise – you don’t need to include every single bit of information. Make it easy for people to look at your board and see what you did, and your results. If you want judges to get more details, you can tell them while they interview you and/or show your data book. Organization is important in arranging items on your board. Judges and the public should be able to take a quick glance at your board and locate the title, experiment or method, results, analysis and conclusions. Try to use “white space” so the items on your board will stand out. Photographs are good in moderation, as well as charts and graphs of data. Make sure all pictures and graphics are clear and correctly labeled with a descriptive title. Anyone should be able to understand the visuals without further explanation.
More detailed instructions on the display board will be given in class.
Judging Criteria
Overall, judges look for well thought-out projects. They look at how significant your project is in its field and how thorough you are. Judges want to see if you understand what you did, why you did it, and how you did it. Judges also would like to know that you understand how you got your statistics and conclusions. Ask your teacher to make sure you understand what your numbers mean, and how you got them. Judges applaud students who can speak easily and confidently about their projects; memorized speeches or information will not impress the judges.
- 30% Creative Ability: originality in questions and hypotheses, as well as in methods, data analysis, and interpretation of data
- 30% Scientific Procedures: well-defined goals, hypotheses, variables, controls, methods, relevant and adequate data or testing
- 15% Thoroughness: completeness of data gathered, goals achieved, knowledge of literature on the topic
- 15% Competence/Skill: complexity, skill in design, lab techniques, computation, overall skill, assistance received, able to explain statistics
- 10% Communication: clearly described/explained, readable, good use of visuals