SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT GUIDELINES

All eighth grade science fair projects can be investigations in any area of science that interests you.
You are allowed to form groups, but each group may not exceed four members.
The members of your group can be from any homeroom.

Junior high school science projects must be based on the scientific method and be experimental in nature.

This means that ALL PROJECTS MUST HAVE A CLEARLY DEFINED CONTROL AND VARIABLE.

The steps of the scientific method are as follows:

Find a problem
Research the problem
Form a hypothesis
Experiment
Compile data
Form a conclusion

Choosing a topic is perhaps the most crucial step in the execution of a good project.

Given this fact, it should be approached most seriously and must be afforded a good deal of both time and effort.

Some tips on selecting your topic include:

Choose a topic that interests you
Narrow down your topic to a single aspect
Choose a topic that your parents would approve of
Plan you time wisely to allow for project completion
Avoid projects that have been done before – BE ORIGINAL

When choosing a topic, remember your teacher must approve it.
Topics Due: 11.21.09
(FAILURE TO MEET THE APPROVAL DEADLINE WILL RESULT IN A GRADE OF ZERO FOR THE PROJECT.)

Be sure that the material needed to complete your project are readily available.

NO ANIMAL STUDIES ARE ALLOWED

The following can serve as resources both in choosing a topic and in researching it:

The Internet

Newspaper Articles

Science Textbooks

Museums

Science Laboratory Manuals

Encyclopedias

Science Magazines

Our DiscoveryEducation.com Website

Your completed project will have THREE (3) Components:

A Written Report

Oral Presentation

Display Board.

ALL WRITTEN REPORTS MUST CONTAIN ALL OF THE FOLLOWING SUBSECTIONS IN THE ORDER LISTED. INCLUSION ON THE DISPLAY BOARD OR IN THE ORAL REPORT DOES NOT MEAN THAT A SECTION CAN BE OMITTED FROM YOUR REPORT.

The format for your written report is as follows:

I. Title

II. Research - Summarize the information you gathered from reference books and other resources about your topic. You must consult a minimum of three sources where one cannot be an Internet source in conducting your research. These sources must be cited in your bibliography, which will be the last page of your report.

III. State Hypothesis

IV. Materials – List all materials and equipment that you used in carrying out your experiment.

V. Procedure – Give a step by step listing of all the steps you took in conducting your experiment

VI. Observations – Describe what you observed while experimenting. Use drawings, tables, graphs, photographs, or whatever will best present your data in a clear and concise manner.

VII. Conclusions – State what your observations proved

VIII. Bibliography – Give a listing of all the sources you consulted in research. This should be a separate page and all entries must adhere to the correct bibliography format. For further information refer to the “Science Fair Research Guidelines” at the end of this handout.

ADDITIONALLY, all reports must have a COVER PAGE. The cover page should only list the project title in the center of the page and the names of those who participated in the project in the lower right hand corner. All reports should also have a back page, which is blank.

Written Reports Due: 01.15.10

All science fair projects must be presented orally.

For the oral presentation, a display board is required.

Oral Presentations Begin: 01.19.10

The following are some guidelines for the construction of your display:

The display should be done after your research paper is complete.

The purpose of the display is to visually show and summarize your project so all parts (except the bibliography) of your written report must be include in abbreviated form on your display. Your display should tell the complete story of your investigation.

The display board must be able to stand up on its own and should be three sided. The back section should be between 25-36 inches long. Each wing should be about 18 inches and the entire display should be about 24 inches high.

The display should contain the title of the project prominently and must contain all the subsections that were included in your written report, except for the bibliography.

Display Boards Due: 01.19.10

GRADING WILL BE BASED ON:

YOUR WRITTEN REPORT (50 POINTS)
ORAL PRESENTATION (30 POINTS)
DISPLAY BOARD (20 POINTS)

　

Science Fair Project Research Guidelines

One required element of your science fair project is that you research the topic that you are studying.

When completing this research, you should summarize and paraphrase the information that you have found and are considering for inclusion in your report on note cards.

These note cards should also include the data on the source that you will need when compiling your bibliography (title, author, publisher, city of publication, copyright date, and pages used).

The bibliography that you attach to your research paper must list all reference sources that you consulted while working on your project.

All research must be entirely in your own words.

Using another writer’s ideas or words as if they were your own is PLAGAIARISM. This is unacceptable and illegal and will result in a grade of zero (0) for your written report.

The following guidelines must be followed when completing the bibliography page of your finished science fair report:

The page should be titles “Works Cited”. The title should appear centered and underlined at the top of the page.

All entries must be listed in alphabetical order.

All information on your works cited page should be double-spaced.

Individual entries must follow the models given below.

BOOK: Author (Last name, First name, Middle initial). Title of the Book. City of Publication: Publisher, copyright date.

MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Author (Last name, First name, Middle initial). “Title of Article”. Name of Magazine. date of issue, month of issue, year of issue: page numbers used.

ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE: Author (Last name, First name, Middle initial). “Tite of Article”. Name of Encyclopedia. year of edition.

ONLINE ARTICLE: Author (Last name, First name, Middle initial). “Name of Article”. Name of Website. date accessed (day, month, year). Complete Web Address.

WEB SITE: Name of Site, date accessed (day, month, year). Complete Web Address.