At the 2011 fair, students investigated many interesting topics using the scientific method and had a lot of fun in the process. Many families came back to school that evening to check out the exciting projects and to be entertained by the Maryland Science Center staff that put on an exciting and engaging assembly, Science Matters. An awards presentation followed. Winners are as follows.

Award recipients in third, fourth, and fifth grades went on to compete in the Christiana School District Science Fair a week later.

Kindergarten

1st place - Veronica Bielewicz - Swings and Pendulums
2nd place - Joey Baranyai - Absorption
3rd place - Sierra Johnston - Sunlight Versus Grow Light

First Grade

1st place - Paige Holowka - Onion Sees the Light!
2nd place - Flynn Miller - Does Food Stay Fresh Longer In or Out of the Fridge?
3rd place - Emma Baer - Birdseed Frozen in Winter

Second Grade

1st place - Zachary Christie - Can Plants Hear?
2nd place - Gwen Radecki - Distracted by a Phone?
3rd place - Nichole Hemphill - Tasty Solutions

Third Grade

1st place [3rd place in District Science Fair] - Allison LaPorte - Recycled or New: Which Paper is Better?
2nd place [2nd place in District Science Fair] - Emi Cranker - Sweet vs. Healthy: Which Cereal Has More Iron?
3rd place - Andrew Shi - LED Color Mixing
Honorable Mention - Nicole Gill - Dog vs. Human: Whose Mouth is Cleaner?

Fourth Grade

1st place - Reema Rao - Effect of Drinking Soda
2nd place - Madeline Cheong - A Dry Boat in Water
3rd place [3rd place in District Science Fair] - Donovan Hodge - Soil Liquification
Honorable Mention - Erica Bauernschmidt - Diary of a Worm's Diet

Fifth Grade

1st place - Ian Sweeney - Surface Tension
2nd place [1st place in District Science Fair] - Nolan Moss - Color vs. Flavor
3rd place - Michael Hemphill - Clean Water for All
Honorable Mention - Sam Murphy - Distracted Driving

Thank you to all of the teachers, families, and students who helped make the science fair a great success! A special thank you also goes out to ZZHouse Design Studio for donating the designing and printing of our gorgeous programs!

Science Fair Timeline

Science fair projects are due the morning of April 12, 2011. Prior to the day of the fair, there are additional key milestones that must be completed in order to participate in the science fair. These dates are:

January 14, 2011: Topic and permission slips due to teachers
January 31, 2011: Topics approved and information packets sent home
February 14, 2011: Final outlines due to teachers

If you decide at any point not to complete your project, please contact Mary Jo Reighart or Karen Cranker (302-731-4594) and inform her that you won't be participating in this year's science fair.

Advice for Parents

Help your child get started but do not do your child's project.
Ensure safety. Avoid using anything that could be dangerous. If live animals are used, the animals must not be harmed in any way. Specific approval for the use of live animals must be given by a science fair committee co-chair prior to starting any experiments.
Monitor your child's progress. Guide your child to ensure a successful project. Don't wait until the last day to start!
The ideas for the project and within the project should be the child's ideas.
The child should do all measurements, observations, and calculations with minimal guidance.
Younger children may need help with the written portion of the display, but it should be in the child's words. The child should record the results and make the charts or graphs.
The display should be put together, arranged, and glued by the child.
Both the student's presentation and the display board must cover the scientific method, as described below.
When the project is complete, review it with your child. Have them explain it to you as if you were a judge. This will help them to organize their thoughts and make them more comfortable in front of the judges on the day of the fair.

Scientific Method

Science is the study of the material world using human reason. The scientific method is the way human reason and logic are deductively applied to the material world to gain knowledge. It is a tool and like most tools, it has both strengths and weaknesses. Since we live in a society dominated by science, it is important for us to understand the methods, processes, possibilities, and limits of science. We do not have to become specialists to do this, but it sure helps to have some firsthand experience using the scientific method.

Science, by definition, limits itself to what can be observed, measured, and verified. It is an appropriate tool for answering certain types of questions, but an inappropriate method for answering others.

The scientific method cannot, for example, be used to find the answers to questions like "Does X love me?" or "Why does the giraffe have a long neck?". The reason is that feelings and meaning cannot be measured. (However, "What are the evolutionary advantages the giraffe gains through having a long neck?" is a valid question.)

The scientific method used for the Downes science fair involves the steps listed below.

Question: The research question is the single most important part of the scientific method. Every part of your project is done to answer this question. The research question is sometimes formed as a statement and is called the "Problem" or "Problem Statement." Choosing a question is one of the hardest parts of creating a Science Fair Project.
Hypothesis: The hypothesis is an "educated guess," formed as a statement, that you propose to be the answer to the research question. An educated guess is based on some prior knowledge. What do you think may be the answer to your question? The hypothesis is the possible answer you will try to prove or disprove. If you get this far and realize your question cannot be answered by the scientific method, return to the question and figure out whether any part of your question involves something which can be measured. If not, it is a question science can't answer. If yes, rephrase your question accordingly and continue.
Definitions and Research: Research your question to help develop a suitable experimental design as well as to define key terms.
Experimental Design: Plan an experiment in which you can test your hypothesis. Your method will be the process by which you prove or disprove your hypothesis. Make sure your method of investigation will answer your question and only your question.
4a. Materials: As part of the experimental design, compile a list of all the materials you will need to conduct your investigation.
4b. Procedure: The procedure is a somewhat detailed, step-by-step description of how you conducted your experiment. A future scientist reading your procedure should be able to repeat your experiment precisely.
Collect Data: All scientists keep a record of their observations. As you observe your experiment, you will need to record the progress of your experiment. Data can be whatever you observe about your experiment that may or may not change during the time of the experimentation. Entries should be written clearly and with detail of description so that another scientist can read the data, simulate the conditions of the experiment, and repeat the experiment exactly.
Charts & Graphs: When at all possible, illustrations of data are advisable. They create a professional appearance and convey a great deal of information.
Results: The results section is usually in the form of a statement that explains or interprets the data. You do not go into any detail or explanations here. You simply say in words what your data is telling you.
Conclusion: The conclusion is a summary of the research and the results of the experiment. This is where you answer your research question. You make a statement of whether your data supported your hypothesis or not. You may have data that supported part of your hypothesis and not another part. You may also have data that did not support your hypothesis at all. In this case, you may explain why the results were different. You asked a question, you did an experiment, and you did the experiment a second time. You recorded your results. Now it is time to write your conclusion. The conclusion, plain and simple, is the answer to your question. It should be clear, concise, and to the point. Resist the temptation to jump to conclusions.
Improvements for Next Time: If you were to do your experiment again, would you get the same results? Can there be differences? Why? Ask yourself what happened when you tested your hypothesis. What have you learned?
Resources: One of the most important things for a student to do is recognize the people and resources used in developing and conducting the project. Name the people who offered knowledge or helped, and list the web sites, retail stores, magazines, books, computer programs, etc. that were used as sources of information or supplies.

Display Boards

Each participant should present their project on a 3-panel display board. They can be purchased at Staples, A.C. Moore, or most other office supply stores. The boards usually cost around $4.00 to $5.00. If anyone needs assistance purchasing a display board please let a science fair committee co-chair know.

The purpose of the display is to present your project to an audience. It should attract the attention of a viewer and make them want to come over and read about your project. The title and other headings should be neat and large enough to read at a distance. A short title is often eye-catching. You can cut your own letters using stencils or use self-sticking letters. Students may also use a computer to print their information. The area directly in front of your display board may be used to display other aspects of your project: books containing data, items used in your experiment such as plants, rocks, etc.

Science Fair Display Board

Your display should follow the scientific method. As a general rule, the left panel of the display board should include the question or purpose, your hypothesis, definitions & research, the materials needed to do the experiment, and the procedure. The center panel should include the title, illustrations/photos, and tables/graphs/charts. It should present the data: what you found out from doing the experiment. The right panel should include the results, conclusion, what you would like to do differently or expand upon if you were going to do the experiment again. Your name and project number should be below the title and don't forget to list the resources, if applicable. Of course, the student can arrange the board in any logical order that suits the project.

Note: Projects on display at the science fair may not include live animals or insects, matches or flames, flammable or dangerous chemicals, unconfined messes, blood, unattended balloons, or other small or potentially dangerous items. If live animals were used for the project, you must either display a summary of what you did to protect the animals from harm or talk about it in your presentations to the judges.

Judging

Judging will be completed during the school day. Each student will be interviewed by two different judges at different times. There will be multiple judges evaluating each grade level. At the end of judging for each grade level, the judges will gather as a group and discuss what they felt were the best projects. The judges will review the best projects and select the winners based on the poster board content and the feedback from the interviewing judges on the knowledge of the student.

Final placement is agreed to by the entire group of judges. Judges are educators and technical professionals from the local community. Typically, parents of students at the school are not judges, however, parent volunteers are needed during judging to bring students to and from class and keep the judging room orderly. If you are interested in helping out during judging, please contact the science fair co-chairs.

Judges will be provided a judging guide to outline the science fair committee's expectations around judging.

Included here is a copy of the judging form. Note that there is a very strong emphasis on inclusion of all elements of the scientific method, as well as on the student's ability to discuss the details of the scientific method and how it pertains to the project.

If you want to participate in the science fair and display your project, but you don't want to compete for an award and be interviewed by the judges, please contact a science fair committee co-chair.

Registration and Setup

All projects (labeled with name, grade, teacher, and project number on the front of the display board) will need to be dropped off on the morning of the science fair from 7:30 to 8:30 am (pm kindergarten participants: if this is a problem, contact the science fair coordinator to make other arrangements). Each participant should report to the registration table inside of the gym, where they will receive their table assignment. All projects will need to be removed from the gym immediately following the end of the science fair that evening. If you would like to participate in the fair but are unable to attend in the evening, let the science fair committee co-chairs know and arrangements can be made. If you are sick from school the day of the fair due to illness (anything that is considered contagious), you may not enter the school building to be judged due to Delaware state health regulations.

Final Outline

Attached is a template for a final outline. It will provide the Science Fair Committee with information to ensure that your project is on the right track. In order to participate in the science fair a final outline must be turned in by the deadline.

Topic Suggestions

Here are some suggestions for science fair topics for kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade.

Principal Denise Schwartz welcomes you aboard the H.R.R. Downes: Honesty, Respect, Responsibility

Outside Links:

Science Fair

Award Recipients