A beginner s guide to doing a SciFest project - LIT – Home Documents/A Beginner's Guide t… · · 2014-02-10Contents SciFest Why should you enter SciFest? What are students just

A beginner’s guide to doing a

SciFest project

Sheila Porter

CEO, SciFest

SciFest 2013 was sponsored by

Roche Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, Institute of Physics, Irish Science Teachers’ Association (ISTA), Cornmarket

Group Financial Services Ltd., Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI), Beckman Coulter (LIT), Cook Medical Ireland

(LIT), Limerick County Council Environmental Section (LIT), Janssen Pharmaceuticals (CIT), Student Services Co. Ltd (CIT)

Contents

SciFest

Why should you enter SciFest?

What are students just like you saying about SciFest?

Where can you find information about SciFest?

What is a science fair project?

Follow the steps of the scientific method

What is a fair test?

Example of a fair test

Before you begin

Sample Project 1

Sample Project 2

You are now ready to start your own project

Is the idea workable?

Social and behavioural projects


Worksheet 1 – Best Ideas

Worksheet 2 – The Hypothesis

Remember the following

Project checklist

5

6

6

7

8

8

8

9

9

9

10

12

13

13

14

15

16

18

19

P a g e | 5

©Sheila Porter, CEO SciFest www.scifest.ie

430 teachers

230 schools

15 colleges

2262 projects

5368

8

students

SciFest 2013 Record Breaking Number of Entries

If 5368 students can do it then so can YOU!

SciFest

SciFest was launched nationwide in Ireland in 2008

It was set up to give students just like YOU an opportunity, to participate in a science fair

SciFest allows YOU to take charge of what YOU are going to do and how YOU are going to do

it

YOU can do a project on your own or even better join up with your friends and do a group

project (maximum number of students per group is three)

When YOU are finished your project YOU get to go to the science fair to present your findings

to the judges and YOU might even win a prize

At the science fair YOU will meet lots of students from other schools and make new friends.

SciFest 2013 broke all previous records with 5368 students from schools all over Ireland

exhibiting 2262 projects

P a g e | 6


Why should YOU enter SciFest?

YOU will:

learn lots of new things and participating in a science exhibition is usually lots of fun

become better at science

learn from looking at all the other projects on display

develop new skills, e.g. how to use a camera, improve your computer, presentation and

communication skills

learn how to collaborate with others and work as a member of a team

get more confident, more mature, and better at planning ahead and organising your work

make lots of new friends and meet students from other schools

learn more about the different courses available in third-level colleges

learn more about the exciting career opportunities available to you if you study science, maths,

technology or engineering at third level

be able to list it as an achievement on your CV

get recognition and acknowledgement for all your hard work

YOU could win a prize (129 SciFest trophies and more than €3700 in One4All tokens were

awarded at SciFest@College in 2013. Additional trophies and prizes were awarded by each

third-level college)

What are students just like YOU saying about SciFest?

‘I thought SciFest was a great experience and interesting. Overall, I really enjoyed it and

learned a lot from it.’

‘I got to see a lot of different experiments from other students and I got to show off my project.’

‘I found SciFest amazing. Lots of friendly helpful people. Hope to have an opportunity to come

back again.’

‘It was a very enjoyable experience that was really amazing. The judges were also lovely.’

‘We got good advice from judges about how we can improve our experiment.’

‘I learned a lot on how to do projects and organisation. The day was a lot of fun. It also helped

my confidence.’

Students’ Quotes (SciFest Evaluation Questionnaires 2013)

P a g e | 7


Check out the website

Like SciFest on Facebook

Follow SciFest on Twitter

Watch SciFest on YouTube

View SciFest photos on Flickr

Read SciFest Ezine on Yudu

Where can you find information about SciFest?

The best way to find out all about SciFest is to visit the official SciFest website: www.scifest.ie

On the website you will find lots of advice on how to do your project. You might also want to like

SciFest on Facebook, follow SciFest on Twitter, watch a SciFest video on You Tube, read the SciFest

Ezine on Yudu or look at some photographs of previous SciFest events on Flickr.

You will find links to all of the above SciFest websites listed below:

www.scifest.ie

www.facebook.com/scifest.ie

https://twitter.com/SciFest4STEM

www.youtube.com/user/scifest

http://free.yudu.com/library/36115/SciFest-s-Library

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sp13





















http://www.scifest.ie/

http://www.scifest.ie/

http://www.facebook.com/scifest.ie


http://www.youtube.com/user/scifest

http://free.yudu.com/library/36115/SciFest-s-Library

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sp13

https://www.facebook.com/scifest.ie


https://www.youtube.com/user/scifest

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sp13/

P a g e | 8


What is a Science Fair Project?

A science fair project is an investigation that is carried out to solve a problem or answer a question.

You should:

follow what is called the SCIENTIFIC METHOD

keep a REPORT BOOK and write down all the steps of your

investigation

RECORD ALL YOUR RESULTS as you go along

DISPLAY what you have done

Follow the steps of the

Scientific Method

1. Look at the world around YOU.

Ask a question.

2. Carry out some research.

3. Write down your hypothesis. A hypothesis is a guess about how things work.

4. Test your hypothesis by carrying out experiments.

5. Write down what you see. This is called data.

6. Examine the data. This gives you the results of the experiment.

7. From the results, decide whether or not your hypothesis was true. This is how you reach

conclusions.

8. You are now ready to present your project.

What is a FAIR TEST?

It is very important that your experiment is a FAIR TEST. To do this you must:

Only change one thing at a time while keeping everything else the same.

Repeat the experiment a number of times

P a g e | 9


Example of a fair test

Hypothesis: A Plant Grows Better in Direct Sunlight than in the Shade?

FAIR TEST

You must only change one thing

The amount of light

All other things must stay the same

The type of plant

The type of soil

The temperature

The amount of water you give the plants

It is also important to use more than one plant or to repeat the experiment a number of times

Before you begin

The following two investigations will take you through the steps involved in doing a project. You

might like to try one of them before you start work on your chosen project.

Sample Project 1

1. Ask a question about something that you see: How, What, When, Who, Where, Which, or

Why?

Which brand of raisin cereal has the most raisins?

2. Carry out some research – look up the Internet, check out a book and ask your mum or dad.

Learn all you can about your question.

Visit a few supermarkets and check which cereals have raisins. What are raisins and

are they an essential part of your diet? Are cereals with more raisins better for you?

P a g e | 10


3. Write down your ‘Hypothesis’. A hypothesis is a guess about how things work.

All breakfast cereals have the same amount of raisins per bowl of cereal.

4. Design and carry out your experiment

Your experiment tests whether your hypothesis is true or false.

It is important for your experiment to be a fair test, i.e. you only change one thing at a time

while keeping everything else the same.

Repeat all your experiments several times to make sure that the first results weren't just an

accident.

Shake the box to mix the cereal. Weigh out a definite amount. Count the raisins.

Repeat three times and take an average. Repeat this for each cereal.

5. Analyse your data and draw a conclusion

Make a chart and as you carry out your experiment write down all your results. When your

experiment is finished study your results. Examine them to see if your hypothesis is true or false.

6. Present your project

Finish writing up your report book. Make up your display board and get ready to tell others about

your project.

Sample Project 2

1. Ask a question about something that you see: How, What, When, Who, Where, Which, or

Why?

Do roots of a plant grow downwards and the shoots upwards?

2. Carry out some research – look up the Internet, check out a book and ask your mum or dad.

Learn all you can about your question.

P a g e | 11


Is there a name for what happens? What plants would be best to use?

3. Write out your ‘Hypothesis’. A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work

Roots of plants grow downwards and shoots grow upwards.

4. Design and carry out your experiment

Your experiment tests whether your hypothesis is true or false.

It is important for your experiment to be a fair test, i.e. you only change one thing at a time

while keeping everything else the same.

Repeat all your experiments several times to make sure that the first results weren't just an

accident.

Use broad bean seeds. Get 3 jam jars. Put blotting paper around the inside and fill

with compost. Put 4 seeds in each jar all in different positions. Put the jars in the same

amount of light and at the same temperature. Add the same amount of blotting paper,

compost and water. You could repeat the experiment using pea seeds.

5. Analyse your data and draw a conclusion

Make a chart and as you carry out your experiment write down all your results. When your

experiment is finished study your results. Examine them to see if your hypothesis is true or false.

6. Present your project

Finish writing up your report book. Make up your display board and get ready to tell others about

your project.

P a g e | 12


You are now ready to start your own project

Deciding on an idea is often the hardest part of doing a project. Don’t worry; it doesn’t have to be

something that has never been done before. There’s plenty of help out there.

Log onto the SciFest website http://scifest.ie/scifest-toolkit; there are lots of tips on how to get

started and also some project ideas

The Science Buddies website http://www.sciencebuddies.org is also well worth a visit

Talk to your parents, teachers, and friends

Check out the Internet and the school library

Watch the news, check out a newspaper, a science book or magazine

Think about interesting topics in science or investigate a hobby

Get a large sheet of paper and brainstorm with the team

Make a shortlist of ‘3 best ideas’

Research and brainstorm further

Discuss the ideas with teachers, parents and friends

Check that all experiments are safe and that harmful chemicals are not needed

Make out a list of all the things needed

http://scifest.ie/scifest-toolkit

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/

P a g e | 13


Is the idea workable?

Can measurements be taken?

Are you changing only one thing?

Are you able to keep everything else the same?

Is the equipment available?

Could the project be completed in time?

Is there enough information available?

Have you discussed the idea with your teacher?

Social and Behavioural Projects

These appear easy but don’t be deceived

Questionnaires and surveys require careful design

A pilot survey or questionnaire should be done

A representative sample should always be used

To do a good project you will need to go beyond basic statistics, therefore you may need to get

help from somebody, e.g. a maths teacher

P a g e | 14


Problem Look around you, ask questions, identify a problem

Statement and write a hypothesis.

Research Gather as much information about the topic as

possible.

Investigate Design and carry out experiments to test your

hypothesis.

Record Record the results (data) on a table.

Analyse Look carefully at your results to see if you can see

patterns or trends.

Conclude Come up with a possible solution to your original

problem. How do your findings compare to existing

knowledge and are they important in the real world?

Present Be prepared to let others know what you have found

out.


P a g e | 15


WORKSHEET 1 Best Ideas Date to be completed by _____________

Make a list below, of your 3 ‘Best ideas’ 1. ___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Discuss the above list with your team, parents, teacher, etc. Decide on one idea and write, in the

space below, a short paragraph describing what you would like to do for your science project.

Remember research, research, and research again until you are an expert on the topic!

Teacher’s signature _____________________________________ Date ________________

P a g e | 16


WORKSHEET 2 The Hypothesis Date to be completed by _____________

Now that you think you have decided on a topic you need to do some research. This is very important

as you need to know everything about the topic before you can write a HYPOTHESIS.

Hypothesis_________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Investigation plan

1. Use the space below to make a list of the steps you need to follow to carry out your investigation.

You should carry out a trial investigation. Expect the unexpected and be prepared to make the

necessary changes.

2. Make a list below of all the equipment that you will need.

P a g e | 17


3. Draw a diagram of the apparatus you intend to set up.

3. Design a table or chart on which to record the data you collect. Have this table ready before you

carry out your experiment.

Teacher’s comments: _______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Teacher’s signature _____________________________________ Date ________________

P a g e | 18


Remember the following:

Log on to www.scifest.ie

Keep your teacher informed at all times

Repeat the experiment a number of times

Change only one thing

Keep everything else constant

Be prepared to change your experimental plan if necessary

Ensure that it is a fair test

REMEMBER TO OBSERVE ALL SAFETY PROCEDURES

Always check with your teacher or a responsible adult before you

carry out an experiment.

For information on how to write up your report book and present your project visit the SciFest

website: http://scifest.ie/scifest-toolkit.

Some SciFest 2013 Prizewinners

http://scifest.ie/scifest-toolkit

P a g e | 19


Project Checklist Date to be completed by: ____________

Please each box when you have completed the task.

I have checked the spelling in the Report Book and on the Display Board

Somebody else, parent, teacher, guardian, relation has read my Report Book

I have discussed my project and Report Book with the above person and made the necessary

changes

I have included the following pages in my Report Book

*Cover Page *Summary *Introduction *Background Research

*Experimental Methods *Results *Conclusions

*Recommendations *Acknowledgements *Appendices

*References

The Cover Page includes the following

*Title of Project *Name/s of Team Members *Name of School

I have included as many references in the Report Book as possible

I have listed all the books and websites I used in my research

I have listed persons or institutions that have helped me

I have included any copies of letters or emails that I sent or received

I know everything there is to be known?? about the project

I have gone beyond basic statistics for my survey. I have not just done pie charts or bar charts for

each question

I have met with my team and we have run through how we will present the project to the judges

I have met with my team and discussed how we will divide up the answering for the judges

I am happy with my contribution to the project

I have organised transport to SciFest so that I will arrive on time

I have written thank you cards or letters to people (university professors, school principals,

teachers, etc.) who helped me with my project

I have thanked my parents for their support

Closing date for receipt of entries to SciFest 2014 is 7 March 2013

Please check the website regularly for updates

www.scifest.ie