"PTA STEM Fair 2019 – STEM from the ground up!"
Guidelines
STEM Fair General Rules
· All entries must present a display.
· This is a student-driven project where parents are encouraged to participate in an advisory role.
· No hazardous chemicals should be used in any experiment.
· Live animals can be observed in their natural habitat or used in projects as long as they cannot be harmed in any way. “Animals” include any living thing (insects, worms,house pets, etc.). Also animals cannot be brought to school with your project – take pictures but please do not bring in a sample.
· Any project demonstrations requiring batteries, matches, and lighters must be pre-approved and flagged by the Science Chair.
· A Student’s Name, Grade, and Teacher Name should be labelledclearly on all projects.
Be safe and HAVE FUN!
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Experiment Guidelines
All experiments should be conducted using the Scientific Method.
Student must come up with their own inquiry.
Parents should aid student in understanding ideas and concepts, and options of research, design, and presentation materials. Students will be asked to discuss their inquiry and discoveries by informed parent “mentors”.
Base experiments and inquiries around something you and your student are interested in.
Click here for more information on "Project Presentation following scientific method".
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Display Guidelines
The display you submit to the STEM Fair will represent all of your hard work. All Science Fair entries must present a display(Tri fold display board recommended). Please put careful time and attention into this display. Remember the physical display makes the first impression on the mentors and all who review your work. All lettering should be clear and easy to read. You can creatively cover the backdrop with colored paper or fabric but the information presented should be readable. The information required should be addressed in a concise but complete manner.
All display boards must fit certain size and shape restrictions due to the space available. All displays must stand by themselves. Tri-fold display boards are commercially available at many local businesses. They are inexpensive and designed specifically for these events. They can also be used several times if the background is recovered and neat. However, creative ideas are encouraged and welcomed as long as they meet the size requirements. Please do not exceed the dimensions of 48” high x 36” wide x 30” deep. The commercial display boards generally meet these requirements.
All displays should include the Title for your project, Your Name, and Teacher’s Name centered on your display. Please check and recheck your display for any misspelledwords, incorrect titles, or insuffishient information. Label all charts and graphs that present data collected.
The following information should be included on your display board
We encourage pictures onyour display board. These can be hand drawn sketches or photographs. Have someone take photos of you performing your experiment. This demonstrates clearly that you did the work on your project and shows how much fun you had doing it!
JudgingCriteria
The STEM Fair at Challenger Elementary is a non-competitive event.
We want every child to walk away feeling successful.
Participants will present their project to a judge for approximately five minutes. The judges will acknowledge an area of strength in each project. The review criteria have been listed for students to keep in mind while they are creating and presenting their projects. Mentors will be asked to identify one area of strength they believe the student has exhibited. They will acknowledge that area of strength by placing 3 color-coded stars on the student’s evaluation sheet. While many students will share the same areas of strength, this allows the student to be acknowledged on an individual basis.
The mentors will have evaluation sheets that review the following aspects of all projects:
1. Creative Ability –Originality, Creative Thinking, Interesting and Creative Presentation.
2. Scientific Thought –Is the topic narrow enough? Are variables controlled? The mentors will discuss if the project was well thought out and if the student followed through on their research, experimentation, interpreting results, etc.
3. Thoroughness – This acknowledges any research done, whether the student worked carefully, and whether they included all the required steps.
4. Skill - Mentors will assess if it appears the student did most of the work themselves. It is ok to have parental help, however it must be clear that the student performed most of the work. Neatness will also be assessed in this category.
5. Clarity – This involves the ability to clearly present ones project.
6. Overall Presentation –This is a general statement of the students overall project.
All students will be reviewed with respect to their individual grade level (ie. Kindergartners who write out a display board will not be held to the same level of neatness as a 3rd Grader).
Our goal is to make this a positive experience for all participants. We want to ensure each participant walks away with a feeling of pride and accomplishment.