WELCOME KIKER COMETS

The Kiker Elementary School Science Fair is making an exciting comeback for the 2025–2026 school year! This beloved event encourages curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking as students explore the world through hands-on discovery. All grade levels—from Pre-K through 5th grade—are invited to participate and share their scientific investigations with the Kiker community.

OUR FORMAT

The Kiker Elementary School Science Fair will be modeled exactly like Greater Austin Regional Science and Engineering Fair (GARSEF) having a competitive element with participates competing against themselves not other participants. The true goal is to spark curiosity and inspire students to explore STEM in ways that excite and interest them. It’s less about competing and more about discovering the joy of scientific investigation.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

The Kiker Elementary School Science Fair is open to all students in Pre-K through 5th grade. For our youngest scientists in Pre-K through 2nd grade, this fair is the final level of participation—a wonderful opportunity to explore, create, and present their discoveries within the Kiker community.

Students in 3rd through 5th grade have the chance to advance beyond the school fair. Up to 16 projects will be selected from the Kiker Elementary Science Fair to represent our school at the Greater Austin Regional Science and Engineering Fair (GARSEF).

Participants may work individually or in teams of up to three students. If a team includes members from different grade levels, the project will be judged according to the highest grade level represented. Should a mixed-grade team (including a 3rd–5th grader) be selected to advance, only the 3rd–5th grade student(s) will present at GARSEF, though all team members may participate and present together at the Kiker Elementary Science Fair.

TYPE OF PROJECTS ALLOWED

Students may choose from three types of projects: Experiments, Engineering Designs, and Exhibits.

Experiments involve testing a hypothesis — a scientific question — by following the steps of the scientific method.
Engineering Designs focus on solving a problem by planning, building, testing, and improving a design. Examples include creating a bridge that can hold the most weight, building a balloon-powered car to see how far it travels, or testing which pinewood derby car shape is the fastest.
Exhibits center around explaining or demonstrating how something works, such as researching “How does my toy windmill work?”

For students advancing to GARSEF, 5th graders are encouraged to complete an Experiment or Engineering Design project rather than an Exhibit.

TYPE OF PROJECTS DISALLOWED

A project will be disqualified if it includes any of the following items:

Growing mold or bacteria of any type
Firearms, explosives or discharge air pressure canister devices (ex. potato guns)
Causing pain, suffering, sickness or death of an animal
Breaking local, state, federal law
Production of any amount of consumable alcohol
Any activity of substance that presents a danger to the student, other people or the environment (including hazardous chemicals, radioactive materials and dangerously sharp objects).

DISPLAY GUIDELINES

Must use a sturdy tri-fold display board (available at office and craft stores)
Maximum display size: 15" deep, 48" wide, 60" high. Projects will displayed on tables that are 36" high. Project Display Boards can be purchased online at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Office Depot, Walmart or other similar retailers.
Display items (writing, photos, charts) must be securely attached to the display board with tape or glue, absolutely no staples.
Only paper and photos can be used on display boards. No unattached demonstrations or experiments can be used.

JUDGING CRITERIA

Judges will be volunteers from our school community who work in a STEM field or have a STEM background
All regardless of grade level are judged by criteria (understanding, clarity, process, documentation) rather than by direct peer to peer competition.
AT KIKER SCIENCE FAIR: Judges will review all project display boards, but only students in 3rd through 5th grade will participate in a brief interview lasting about two to three minutes. Students in Pre-K through 2nd grade may choose to discuss their projects with a judge if they wish, but these conversations are for practice only and will not be scored. All students who are interviewed should be prepared to clearly explain their scientific question, hypothesis, variables, method, data, conclusions, and possible improvements to demonstrate their understanding of the scientific process.
At GARSEF: Judges review project boards and ALL students will 2 to 3 minutes. Students should be able to explain: question, hypothesis, variables, method, data, conclusions and improvements
Judging Criteria is based upon a rubric and each participant is judged against themselves, not against their peers.