Walnut
Acres STEM and Science Fair
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Project
Guidelines
1. Projects must be entered by
an individual, small group (up to four), or by entire classes as class
projects.
2. Entry forms are due by Thursday, January 16, 2020. Send your form to sciencefair@walnutacrespfc.net and/or drop them in the Science Fair box in the office. There are printed forms in the office.
3. ALL WORK MUST BE DONE BY
THE STUDENT. Select projects that are within the student’s ability.
4. Projects for 3rd and 4th
grade students may be an experiment (scientific method), invention, or model.
5. Projects for 5th grade
students should be an experiment using the scientific method and, in accordance
with MDUSD’s Career Integrated Academics, should have a connection to real
life.
6. Any grade
can utilize the engineering design process to overcome or show a better way to
handle a real world problem.
7. Display:
- Student’s
name, grade and teacher must be displayed in the upper right-hand corner on the back of
the display board. The project must have a title that can be viewed from a
distance. This information must also appear on any other separate parts of
your project.
- Displays must be free-standing
and have a backboard. Students may use the boards available to purchase or
another board of their choice. Space is limited to 15 inches deep and 30
inches across.
- If project requires an
electrical outlet, student must supply a UL-approved extension cord with
their name on it. Students must indicate their need for an outlet on the
entry form.
- Dangerous chemicals, open
flames and explosives are not permitted.
- Expensive or fragile items
are displayed AT YOUR OWN RISK.
- NO LIVE ANIMALS of any kind
can be used in your project. Models, stuffed animals and pictures/photos
must be used instead. Human body parts must not be displayed except for
teeth, hair and nails.
Judges’
Standards
Grades K-2
1.
Students can clearly explain their project and what they have learned.
2.
Exhibit is clearly titled.
3.
Exhibit is understandable.
Grades 3-5
1)
Process/Content (choose one)
·
For Experiments:
(Scientific Method – recommended for 5th grade)
1. Identify the problem or the
question - state specifically what they are hoping to discover.
2. Hypothesis - consider what
they know about problem and propose a solution or answer to the problem.
3. Procedure - record the
series of steps in the experiment that are done to answer the question/prove
that the hypothesis is correct. Include materials used.
4. Results - present data to
allow one to easily see relative effects of one or more variables.
5. Conclusion - state what
they discovered, evaluate hypothesis (was it correct or not).
·
For Engineering Design: (Alternative approach for 5th
grade or any other grade – age appropriate design)
1.
Use a problem solving process to design and improve technologies
or anything made by humans to solve a problem.
2.
Utilize engineering design process of: Ask – Imagine – Plan –
Create -Improve
3.
Demonstrate creativity and ingenuity.
4.
Explain why you chose the project, how you went about planning it,
and what you learned.
·
For Inventions:
1. Identify the invention’s
purpose.
2. Identify the materials used
and how it was built.
3. Explain how the invention
works and the scientific principles involved.
4. Explain the real world
application of invention.
·
For Models and
Demonstrations:
1. Identify materials and
methods.
2. Explain conclusions and
scientific concept.
2)
Creativity – the topic and methods are original and have a
connection to real life.
3)
Display – the display is neat, organized, well written. It uses
pictures, graphs, tables or display items well.
4)
Oral Presentation – project is clearly and enthusiastically explained to
judges.