Arrowhead PTA Science Fair

Friday, March 23, 2012 at 6:30pm

BIG CHANGES THIS YEAR!!
So many more fun and easy ways to participate!

The Arrowhead PTA Science Fair is coming on March 23, 2012. It's time to start thinking about project entries!! Please take a moment to read below. There are some changes to this year’s science fair that we hope will make it even more fun to participate.

In years past, every Arrowhead Science Fair has always involved two things: individual science projects and 4-5 demonstration/participation stations.   That won’t be changing but the approach to each of these will.

Click here for a copy of the registration flyer.  Register early as there will be weekly prize drawings for registration on 3 different days (Fridays, March 2nd and 9th and Thursday, March 15)

The Science Projects

This year science projects will NOT be judged. However, every entry will receive a participation ribbon. This allows for projects to be entered by individual, pairs, teams of students, or even a whole classroom could present a single project. Student groups may be comprised of students in different grades (e.g. friends, siblings). Parents or teachers can enter without kids should they be interested (although subject matter must remain ‘elementary’). This year’s project displays will demonstrate science for the sake of learning science and will ideally take away the fear of working alone or being judged. Over the holiday break, students may want to begin discussing who they want to work with and what they might want to present. PTA will still be offering free project boards if interested. The table space will still be limited to ½ a table or 3 feet per project.

The Demonstration/Participation Stations

This year, the Arrowhead PTA Science Fair chairs would like to invite up to four interested families to do a demonstration/participation station as a family. Here are the details:

1. You will be given up to a $50 budget to work with.
2. Involve your family at the station on Science Fair night (this could include older siblings, uncles, aunts, grandparents etc). Most importantly, this is a great way to help your Arrowhead students really learn what is being demonstrated since they will take part in ‘running’ the station and communicating or teaching the science behind the activity to their peers.
3. Come up with a fun science-themed name for your family station and posters will be created to hang at your station (examples could be like Cosmic Cummings or the Longitudinal Leasure Family)
4. Decide what your station will entail. There are plenty of easy things that can be done. In the past, demonstration/participation stations have included making ‘take-home’ airplanes out of straws, paper clips, and note cards or learning about a video game that collects research to cure cancer or understanding the human brain.

Contact Angela Cummings at acummings@caci.com with your idea by February 17, 2012.

Start preparing for the Science Fair Now. . . .

First let’s start with Project Types. You could…

Display a COLLECTION: Shells, leaves, rocks and bird’s eggs are all good examples of types of collections. Research and classify your collection and label all of the parts.

Build a MODEL or an APPARATUS: Building a model or an apparatus will teach you a lot about how something works. Create a model of the solar system to learn each planet’s position in relation to the sun or make your own telescope to learn about magnification.

Do a DEMONSTRATION: Demonstrations can help explain a scientific concept. Learn which materials are attracted to magnets and create a display to show your results.

Do an EXPERIMENT: Use the scientific method to answer a question you have about a scientific concept. Study the effect of fertilizers on plants by using organic and synthetic fertilizers and no fertilizer at all.

Do a RESEARCH project: Many questions can be answered through research. Research an interesting animal or a topic of scientific interest like black holes.

Visit the websites like the following to help you decide what to do.

Are you interested in doing an experiment? Use the scientific method to help you through the process.

Question:

Ask a question which can be answered by observation, experimentation or research.

Hypothesis:

Predict what the outcome will be based on your experiences and/or information from available resources.

Materials:

Identify materials, equipment and resources that will be needed for your project.

Procedure:

Establish a step-by-step sequence of what is to be done; be specific and label your steps (1, 2, 3, etc.).

Results:

Organize and display a complete record of your observations and results. Use graphs, charts or pictures to present your data and findings.

Conclusion:

Using the data from your results, answer the question that you originally asked. Note any additional comments, explanations or why the results did or did not match your hypothesis.

Questions? Contact one of the Science Fair co-chairs, Angela Cummings at acummings@caci.com  or Jeanne Leasure at Jeanne.Leasure@gmail.com.