Project Expectations
The journey is more important than the destination
The STEAM Expo isn't about "getting the right answer"—it's about the journey students take and what they learn along the way. A great project is one where a student tackles a problem they are passionate about, spend time working through the details, and come out on the other side having discovered something new and become more comfortable working through problems that don't have a clearly defined solution.
Project categories
Projects should fit into one of the categories below. Each category has suggested expectations to help get started and know what to expect leading up to and during the Expo.
Display their programming skills. This can be through the use of Scratch or any text-based coding language.
Make the world a better place by designing a product, creating a process, or promoting a big idea that improves the environment or reduces negative impacts.
The Invention category is intended to provide a general area of an innovation solution to a problem, or a new single item invention.
The Reverse Engineering category is intended to provide a means of discovering engineering concepts and methods. The participant must take something apart and learn how it works, then explain it!
The participant in the Robotics category must design a device (a robot) that accomplishes a specific purpose repeatedly and autonomously or via remote control.
Scientific Inquiry is the basic experimentation category. The items pertaining to this category include: Question, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Data Collection and Analysis, and Conclusion.
Wearable Design is a category that can include either wearable technology (pedometers, heart rate monitors, etc.) or fashion design.
When & where do students work on projects?
Like most science fairs, students are expected to work on these projects at home. Teachers will periodically check-in on students at least once per month to see how students are progressing, but work on the project won't happen in the classroom.
Students will have a few months to work on their projects at home.
Classroom presentation
These slides were presented to each classroom by a parent volunteer as a way to introduce students to the Sleepy Hollow STEAM Expo and get them excited about the types of projects that can be done.