Helpful Tips & Parent Help?

How Can Parents Help?

• Give encouragement, support, and guidance. Be positive!
• Make sure the project is primarily the work of the child.
• Help your child understand that science is not just a subject, but a “way of looking at the world around us”.
• Help your child design a safe project that is not hazardous in any way.
• Look over the project to check for grammar, neatness, spelling, and accuracy. Make suggestions on how it can be corrected.

Helpful Hints

A CATCHY TITLE - Your title is an extremely important attention grabber. A well thought out title should simply present the topic question and should make the casual observer want to know more.

TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS - Many projects involve elements that may not be displayed at the Science Fair but are an important part of the project. However, photographs of these phases of experimentation can be used in the display. Pictures make the project more engaging for the audience and actually show your results to the judges. Remember, you may NOT use photographs that show faces or in any way indicate who is in the picture.

EFFORT - Make sure your display is logically presented and easy to read. Check to be sure words are spelled correctly and sentences are written correctly. Be sure all of the important pieces of information are included on the display board. Neatness counts with the judges.

EYE-CATCHING - You want to attract and inform. Use neat and colorful headings, charts, and graphs, but don’t get carried away. A board with too much information, color, or pictures can be just as hard to understand as a board with very limited information. Remember you are competing with a lot of other students and you want your project to win! Neatness, spelling, and organization of your materials matter.