Jackson School Science Fair
Everyone in Grades 1-5 is invited to participate!
Thursday, January 30th, 2020
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Jackson Elementary School, Ruppel Center
Other Important Dates:
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Wednesday, January 22, 2020: Entry forms due in the office. Extra notebooks and display boards are in the office for free if needed.
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Thursday, January 30, 2020, 8:35 a.m.: Project boards and notebooks are due in the Ruppel Center before school starts.
If you wish to volunteer at the Science Fair, please contact the Science Fair Chair, Ben Glickman (email: bmglickman@gmail.com). We need your help to make the Science Fair a success!
**Participation is voluntary and students will not be graded on Science Fair work unless told otherwise by your teacher**
Students may work in pairs, only one entry form is required, but both names must be included on the entry form. To submit for judging, both students must be in the same grade.
HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?
Once you have turned in the completed entry form, follow these easy steps:
Step 1: Get a notebook. This is where you are going to record all your notes and data for your project. It’s like keeping a diary of your work. The judges will be looking at all your information in this notebook. Extra notebooks are in the office, if needed.
Step 2: Ask a question! Is there something that you are interested in learning about? Do some research in books and the Internet for science fair project ideas.
Step 3: Choose a format and conduct your experiment. There are two possible types:
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Learn and Explain (not judged)
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Scientific Experiment
(See below for descriptions of each format.)
Step 4: Communicate your results! Get a display board to make your presentation. Ensure your full name, grade and teacher’s name, are written on the back of your board prior to submitting. Extra boards are in the office.
Step 5: Bring your completed board and notebook to the Ruppel Center on January 30th by 8:35 a.m. to show at the Science Fair.
Step 6: Attend the Science Fair that day and enjoy the experience!
THE SCIENCE FAIR FORMATS:
Learn and Explain
In this format, the judges look at the student(s) project, but it is not “judged” - meaning, the student does not participate in the interview. “Learn and Explain” is perfect for the student who wants to participate in the fair but does not want the pressure of being judged. Also, there is no required hypothesis to challenge. It is just how it sounds—the student learns something and then explains it!
All first grade entries must be “Learn and Explain.” In addition, if families wish to work together on a project, they should choose the “Learn and Explain” method.
Required elements for Learn and Explain:
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Background: Provide information about the scientific concept you are exploring.
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Procedure: List materials and describe how you explored your idea. This could be a model, a survey, artwork, or other ways of presenting your concept.
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Observations: Describe what happened when you tested your concept or built your model.
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Conclusion: Describe what you learned from this project and how it could be used in real life. Discuss any problems you encountered and how you overcame them.
Scientific Experiment
Projects that are “Scientific Experiment” entries have the option of being judged.
Required elements for Scientific Experiment:
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Introduction
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Purpose: Explain what you are trying to prove or why you are doing the experiment.
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Investigative Question: What do you want to know?
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Hypothesis: Explain what you think will happen in the experiment and why.
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Procedure
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Materials: Make a list (with exact amounts and units if possible).
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Method: Explain how the experiment is set up, and the steps you took to perform the experiment.
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Data: Describe or show observations and display actual measurements (in graphs, tables, photos, etc.).
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Results: Summarize your test results and explain how the results pertain to the objectives or purpose.
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Conclusion: Discuss how the results support (or don’t support) your hypothesis. Discuss possibilities for errors, how the experiment could be improved, future possible steps, and real life applications.
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Bibliography: List all websites, books, or other sources that you used to do this experiment.
Important: If students wish to take part in the judging, they must meet the following criteria:
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Follow the “Scientific Experiment” format
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Maintain a lab notebook that contains everything from initial ideas, to experiment, to conclusions.
HELPFUL LINKS
Science Buddies is a Web site that allows you to ask scientists about your project. You can explain what you are trying to do and get ideas about how to run the experiment and possible pitfalls to avoid.
