Science Fair

Directions and Deadlines

Fifth grade has the option of participating in the annual school science fair! This is not a mandatory project for fifth grade students, but it is fun and good practice for middle school. (Science Fair is mandatory in grades 6-8.)

General suggestions:

• Plan to work independently or with one partner. Groups of three are acceptable, with permission from the parents of all three partners.
• All work will be completed during non-school hours. No class time will be used for this project.
• See your information packet for specifics about what, how, and when.
• Be certain that what you plan to do is an actual experiment that will answer a question.  Many "experiment" and "science fair project" books are actually demonstrations of known scientific principals and will not be eligible to go on to higher levels of competition. Check with your teacher if you are unsure about your planned project.

2007-2008 Science Fair Project Suggested Schedule:

January 14, 2008                                Project Topic & Question (check w/ teacher)

January 16, 2008                                Review of Literature, Bibliography, & Hypothesis

January 16, 2008                                Procedures

January 17-25,  2008                         Carry out experiment, Collect & Record Data

January 28, 2008                                Graphs & Tables

January 29, 2008                                Disscussion of Data, Interpretation & Conclusion

January 30, 2008                                Future, Abstract, Acknowledgements

January 31, 2008                                Title Page, Table of Contents

February 1, 2008                                Rough Draft of Project Paper

February 8,  2008                               Edited Project Paper (Final Copy)

February 10,  2008                             Display Board complete

February 11-13, 2008                        Sacred Heart Science Fair (set up Mon., Feb. 11)

April 2-5, 2008                                    GKCSEF – Union Station

Websites that may be of help:

Science Pioneers - Here is a link to all pubications about our area Science Fair for grades 4-6. The "Handbooks" section is especially helpful and contains the two booklets that were sent home with interested student groups, as well as many other resources.

Sites that are not specific to our science fair rules:

• Science Project 2004 Index - Consider choosing one of these projects and repeating it. Science is all about repetition. Use a good project and make it your own.
• TrackStar resource sheet with project ideas
• Super Science Fair Projects
• Discovery Schools Science Fair Central
• The Internet Public Library Science Fair Project Resource Guide
• Louisiana State University Science Fair Internet Resources
• National Student Research Center
• School Science Fairs Homepage
• Science Fair Project: A Resource for Students and Teachers
• Science Fair Projects on the Web
• Steps to Prepare a Science Fair Project
• Internet Public Library - Science Fair resource site