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Davis Elementary Science Fair Information Packet – 2018

Davis Elementary

Science Fair Information

Davis Science Fair 2018 Dates

Parent Informational Meeting, Thursday, November 2nd and

Tuesday, November 14th, 2017

Join us in the main lobby at 7:45 a.m. to discuss the different kinds of projects,

guidelines & requirements, and answer questions about science fair.

Projects Due, Tuesday, January 30th, 2018

Bring completed Davis Entry Form, AERSF Research Form (3rd-5th grades only), display

board, lab notebook, and any other project “parts” you want to include in your display

to school with you, and turn them in before reporting to class.

Presentations & Judging, Wednesday, January 31st, 2018

Projects will be set up in the cafeteria, and students will be called individually to present

their work to a small panel of judges. The judges will check that the project includes all

the required elements but will be most interested in hearing about their experiences

conducting a science fair project and what they discovered.

Exhibition & Awards Ceremony, Thursday, February 1st, 2018

Celebrate the students and their accomplishments at 6 p.m. in the Davis cafeteria!

Science Fair projects will be on display, and project awards will be presented. Family and

friends are invited to celebrate as well!

Austin Energy Regional Science Fair, Saturday, February 24th, 2018 Exceptional Davis Elementary Science Fair projects will advance to the AEFSF. These

students will be contacted after the awards ceremony with further information.

Scientists’ Party, TBD

All Science Fair participants are invited to an after-school celebration of a job well

done. Join us for snacks, experiments and science demonstrations!


Davis Elementary Science Fair Basics

Who can participate?

o Any Davis Elementary student in K-5th grade

What kinds of projects can be submitted?

o There are 3 kinds of projects

Collections K-2nd grade only

Share and classify a collection.

Exhibits All grades

Research and explain, often using a demonstration or model, how or why

something works or details of a scientific phenomenon.

Experiments All grades (required for 5th grade GT Math & Science students)

Following the scientific method, design and complete an experiment to

answer a question.

o Each project is presented on a tri-fold display board. These can be purchased at local craft or office supply stores.

Please attach written materials, drawings, graphs, charts, and pictures securely

to the board with tape or glue. No staples please!

o Students can submit individual projects or team projects with up to 3

students total

o Please note the rules before beginning a project. Students may NOT do

projects involving the growing of mold or bacteria. If you have specific

questions about an aspect of your project, please email [email protected].

How can I participate?

o Turn in a project board, demonstration materials, and scientific journal on

the morning of January 30th in the cafeteria. A Davis Science Fair 2018 Entry Form must be submitted with each project.

3rd-5th graders must also submit an AERSF Elementary Project Research Form.

o Present your science fair project to a group of 2-4 friendly judges when

called to the cafeteria on January 31st.

o Celebrate participants at the Exhibition & Awards Ceremony on the evening

of February 1st. Each participants this year will receive a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place ribbon.

mailto:[email protected]


Davis Science Fair 2018 Entry Form

STUDENT INFORMATION

Student Name ____________________________________________________________________

Teacher ____________________________________________ Grade _______________________

Parent/Guardian Name ____________________________________________________________

Phone ___________________________ Email __________________________________________

PROJECT INFORMATION

Project Title _____________________________________________________________________

Project Type (circle one):

Experiment Exhibit (Demonstration, Model, or Display) Collection with Classification (K-2nd only)

This is (check one): ________ an Individual Project _________ a Team Project

If team project, # of students on team (2 or 3 members per team): __________________

List Other Team Members: ___________________________________________________

Electricity Needed? ____________ Yes _____________ No

Project Parts (list each project part not attached to the actual project board: ________________

PHOTO RELEASE – Parents, please complete.

______ Yes, I consent to my child’s photograph being taken and shared in any of the following ways:

(i) in the Davis yearbook, (ii) in materials promoting next year’s science fair to Davis students,

parents, and teachers, (iii) in thank you notes to volunteers and companies who send volunteer

judges, and (iv) on a password-protected photo sharing site to be shared with all science fair

participants’ parents.

Parent’s Signature Date

______ No, I do not consent to my child’s photograph being shared in these ways.

Project #


Austin Energy Regional Science Festival 2018

ELEMENTARY PROJECT RESEARCH FORM Required for All Elementary Projects

STUDENT: ______________________________________________________________________________

School: Student’s Grade:

PARENT/ADULT SUPERVISOR: __________________________________________________________________

Telephone: Email:

PROJECT TITLE: ______________________________________________________________________________

1. Describe your experiment (what were you trying to do, show, or find out)

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

2. Describe how you did it (procedure and materials)

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

3. What were your results (what did you find out)

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

4. Bibliography (must include at least one real scientific source. Google, Wikipedia, Encyclopedia, etc. do not

count) ________________________________________________________________________________

5. Where did you do your project? _______________ 6. Who supervised you? ___________________

7. What risks were involved? ________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

8. What safety measures did you take? ________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

9. Did you follow all of the Austin Energy Regional Science Fest Elementary Rules & Guidelines? Yes No

Parent/Adult Supervisor’s Signature: Date: ___________________

Attach an additional sheet if necessary.

February 21 – 24, 2018 • Palmer Events Center • www.sciencefest.org

http://www.sciencefest.org/





Getting Started – The Rules

Listed on this page are important rules and guidelines* that participants must

follow for both the Davis Science Fair and the Austin Energy Regional Science

Festival (AERSF).

Projects Are NOT Allowed to Involve

o Growing bacteria or mold of any type

o Firearms, explosives, or discharge air pressure canister devices, e.g. potato guns

o Cause of pain, suffering, sickness, or death of an animal, i.e. vertebrates

o Any activity or substance that presents a danger to the student or the environment,

including hazardous chemicals or radioactive materials

Display Board and Safety Guidelines – No staples please!

o Items NOT Allowed – These items may not be brought for judging, but if allowed according

the project guidelines above, photos and/or drawings can be included on the display board.

Organisms: living, dead or preserved, i.e. no plants or bugs

Chemicals, crystals, liquids, including water

Human/animals parts or body fluids, e.g. blood, urine

Human or animal food – photos only

Poisons, drugs, controlled or hazardous substances

Sharp items, e.g. syringes, needles, pipettes, knives, tacks, nails

Glass or glass objects unless encased or an integral and necessary part of a

commercial product, e.g. a computer screen

Pressurized tanks or containers

Batteries with open top cells (so that battery acid can be seen)

Dirt, soil, gravel, rocks, sand, waste products, etc.

Project, device, activity, or substance that may be deemed hazardous to student

health or safety

Photographs or pictures of animals or people in surgical techniques, dissections, or

necropsies

o Discouraged Items

Expensive, breakable or fragile items


The Rules continued

o Allowed or Encouraged Items

Photographs, drawings, stuffed animals/artificial plants or imitation (play) food to

depict the prohibited or discouraged items

Photographs of project steps as a visual explanation of effort (Permission must be

granted for photos of individuals for display on projects.)

Credit/acknowledgement of all sources of graphics and photographers, e.g.

“Photograph taken by…”

Computer and printer use for written parts of the project

Batteries as a source of energy for electrical projects

Electricity for Your Display

o Electrical projects may use batteries.

o If a project requires electricity, indicate this need when registering the project.

Parental Help

Some students are fortunate to have parents who have time to help them. However, parents who

do the thinking or build the project for students do not really help them. Parents are encouraged to

help their children in these ways:

o Read and discuss the Rules

o Select projects that are appropriate for the child’s age and grade level

o Plan and manage project work, documentation, and clean-up times

o Take your child to the public library or other places for research

o Help draw straight lines for young children

o Listen to your child’s oral explanation of the project

o Ensure the child’s safety

Students must list any parental help in the References and Acknowledgements section of the

project.

*Davis Science Fair follows the rules and guidelines as set by the AERSF. The information provided here is adapted from

their Elementary Rules for Participation. More info can be found on their website www.sciencefest.org


Project: COLLECTION

What? A collection of items that are organized into groups, according to their similarities and

differences, and labeled

Who? Students in kindergarten through 2nd grade only

Why? Classifying collections can be an excellent introductory project for a novice scientist

How? Collections will not advance to the AERSF but follow the same basic AEARSF project

guidelines, i.e. journal entries with dates each time you work on the project, reference sources

used to help classify the collection, etc. Please refer to the AERSF’s HOW TO DO AN ELEMENTARY

SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT – STUDENT GUIDE in this packet for guidance.

DISPLAY BOARD ELEMENTS* (Project display should be on sturdy tri-fold board available at local craft

and office supply stores. Written material, drawings and pictures should be securely attached -no staples!- to

the display board)

TITLE of Collection with Classification

RESEARCH REPORT gives background information, may include diagrams & pictures

CLASSIFICATION SCHEME is defined, objective/measurable, and implemented on the display

board or in photographs

CONCLUSIONS describe what the student learned

REFERENCES and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

JUDGING CRITERIA*

A COLLECTION with Classification How well does the project address the criteria?

LEAST HIGHEST

Title – Student states project title (No = 1, Yes = 2) 1 2 Research Report – Student provides written research information 1 2 3 4 5 Conclusions – Student describes what was learned 1 2 3 4 5 References and Acknowledgements – Student credits all sources 1 2 3 4 5 Interview Skills – Student’s verbal communication level 1 2 3 4 5

*Adapted from AERSF’s 2017 ELEMENTARY PROJECT JUDING. Please refer to www.sciencefest.org for more information.



Project: EXHIBIT

What? An exhibit can be a demonstration, a model or a display. A demonstration or model

describes how or why something works. A display reveals details about the topic. This information

can be found in a book; the facts are known.

Who? Students in kindergarten through 5th grade

Why? Exhibits help a student gain a deeper understanding of a topic that interests them.

How? Please refer to the AERSF’s HOW TO DO AN ELEMENTARY SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT – STUDENT

GUIDE in this packet for guidance.



the display board)

TITLE of Demonstration, Model or Display

RESEARCH REPORT gives background information, may include diagrams & pictures

EXPLANATION of what the exhibit shows

CONCLUSIONS describe what the student learned

REFERENCES and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

JUDGING CRITERIA*

AN EXHIBIT (A DEMONSTRATION, MODEL, OR DISPLAY WITH REPORT) How well does the project address the criteria?

LEAST HIGHEST

Title – Student states project title (No = 1, Yes = 2) 1 2 Research Report – Student provides written research information 1 2 3 4 5 Conclusions – Student describes what was learned 1 2 3 4 5 References and Acknowledgements – Student credits all sources 1 2 3 4 5 Interview Skills – Student’s verbal communication level 1 2 3 4 5




Project: EXPERIMENT

What? An experiment is a test of a question to which you do not already know the answer. To test

your question, you must follow the steps of the scientific method. The display board elements

below list these steps. A diagram of the scientific method can also be found in the following pages

of this packet.

Who? Students in kindergarten through 5th grade but required for 5th grade GT Math & Science

students

Why? Experiments help a student explore and answer a question or solve a problem.

How? Please refer to the AERSF’s HOW TO DO AN ELEMENTARY SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT – STUDENT

GUIDE in this packet for guidance.



the display board)

TITLE of Demonstration, Model or Display

PROBLEM What question are you trying to answer?

DEFINITIONS Explain the meanings of any special words stated in the “Problem”

HYPOTHESIS This is what you think will happen before you start to test.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION What do books, articles, and the Internet say about your topic?

EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS What items do you need to perform your experiment?

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE These are the steps you follow to test your problem.

RESULTS What happened? (Use tables of data or graphs plus a description.)

CONCLUSIONS What is the answer to the question in your “Problem”? How do you explain your

results?

REFERENCES and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Books, resource people, articles (include the title and

author) or specific Web sites (include the date the site was accessed). Neither search engines,

such as Google and Yahoo, nor Wikipedia are scientific sources!


Project: EXPERIMENT continued

JUDGING CRITERIA*

AN EXPERIMENT/ENGINEERING PROJECT How well does the project address the criteria?

LEAST HIGHEST

Title – Student states project title (No = 1, Yes = 2) 1 2 Problem – Student asks a testable question or states a problem 1 2 3 4 5 Definitions – Student knows meaning of the words in the problem 1 2 3 4 5 Hypothesis/Engineering Goal – Student predicts results or states goal 1 2 3 4 5 Background Info – Student provides written research information 1 2 3 4 5 Materials – Student lists items needed for test 1 2 3 4 5 Procedure – Student describes steps of test 1 2 3 4 5 Results – Student describes what happened; tables & graphs display data

1 2 3 4 5

Conclusions – Student describes what was learned 1 2 3 4 5 References and Acknowledgements – Student credits all sources 1 2 3 4 5 Interview Skills – Student’s verbal communication level 1 2 3 4 5




Resources for Science Fair Information

Davis Dolphins Science Fair website o http://www.davisdolphins.net/academic-enrichment-school-clubs/science-fair/

o Detailed information packets, dates, and suggested timelines are available for

download.

Davis Dolphins Science Fair Committee o Please feel free to email at [email protected]

o Co-chairs: Karin Canipe, Sarah Ericsson, Larisa Kirkovits

Austin Regional Science Festival o http://www.sciencefest.org/

o Third, fourth, and fifth grade science fair projects may be selected to represent Davis

Elementary in this 12-county regional event.

o The Davis Science Fair also follows the rules and guidelines as set by the AERSF so

specific information can be found there.

Helpful websites with tons of ideas

o Science Buddies

www.sciencebuddies.org

o Discovery Channel’s Science Fair Central

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/

o Science Bob’s Science Fair Ideas

https://sciencebob.com/category/science-fair-ideas/

o American Chemical Society’s Adventures in Chemistry

www.acs.org/kids

o Ipl2 for Kids

http://www.ipl.org/div/projectguide/

Not all of the experiments on these websites are appropriate for

an elementary science fair project. When choosing a project,

please make sure it complies with the Davis Elementary and AERSF rules.

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