Science Fair

Science Fair is an opportunity for students to investigate and create, and the choice is THEIRS!

Why have a science fair? There are plenty of good reasons!

• Engagement - by allowing students to choose science topics that are of interest to them, you give them opportunity to explore outside of the curriculum restraints!
• It involves all of the 6 C's - collaboration (for pair or group projects), creativity, critical thinking and problem solving, communication, community (by inviting parents and community members to come!), and character (through sharing learning with younger students).

How to run a science fair:

• There are many options for science fairs. I tend to use a more traditional approach that includes other options, such as building challenges, so that all students can feel engaged and creative. Here are some topics you can include:
  • Science fair projects for regional science fairs: You will need to check into the regional science fair criteria for your local science fair projects to be sure that you are following their guidelines. I have sent students on to Canada Wide Science Fair, and it is so exciting for students to be part of that! For students that are interested in pursuing a traditional approach, I usually keep examples of tri-fold displays to show for success criteria. I also show videos of students in science fairs to give students an idea of what it will be like.
  • Construction projects: This can be done in two ways - construction BEFORE science fair or construction DURING science fair. Construction projects before science fairs can be fairly traditional like building popsicle stick bridges (I use criteria from local contests) or you can use projects that involve your curriculum, such as building hydraulic lifts or gadgets if teaching grade 8. Construction projects during science fairs usually involve completing a challenge within an hour constraint, providing a work space that is clearly visible to traffic moving through the science fair, and time for testing the challenges during the fair time. A good example we have used is building the tallest newspaper tower that can withstand the force of a fan blowing on its side.
  • Robotics: Last year, we showcased our EV3 Lego Mindstorms at our science fair and had students running them on the Ocean Challenge mat during the science fair.
• Preparing for the fair: I usually give about 1 1/2 - 2 weeks class time (1 hour per day) to prepare for science fair. If students are making a tri-fold display or preparing models, they can use this time. If students are doing construction projects, they can use this time to build. For students who will do the construction challenge during science fair, I give them other similar challenges to work on during this time.
• Assessment: You can assess work completed in class in preparation for science fair by assessing learning skills. During the science fair, I usually go around as a judge with some other judges (teachers, admin, etc) and assess delivery and communication. I also have students present their projects in class a day or two before the science fair so that I can carefully assess their tri-fold and ask them questions about their topic to assess their understanding of the content of their project. I use a science fair grading sheet from our local regional science fair to assess the full project. For building challenges, I use a rubric designed for the task. (this is a link to the Renfrew County Regional Science Fair Project Judging Scoring Sheet - http://rcrsf.ca/documents/Judging%20Scoring%20Sheet.pdf
• Inviting Parents and Community: At our science fairs, we invite parents and community to come and see the work that is done. We also invite other classes to come to the fair and circulate through it. It is a great way to get everyone excited about science, technology, engineering, and yes, math! Check out the pictures below - lots of graphs and data, measurement and calculations!