Learning Life Skills Through Science Fair Projects

I always enjoy attending science fairs and talking with the student participants as they enthusiastically explain there projects. Filled with excitement, they describe step by step the intricacies of their experiments and the startling revelations that they may have discovered.

However, there is a range of projects that span student capabilities from simple to very complex. Some projects are simple and done at home or in school with some teacher guidance. Other projects are done in conjunction with a mentor from the local university or industrial lab. Judging these projects from opposite extremes takes some practice and keeping them on a level playing field.

I especially love the home made projects involving simple ideas with a new twist. The ones where students have made their own instruments to measure the changes in simple variables. I saw one such project last week where a student was measuring the lift on airplane wings of different shapes. She first created the wind power with a leaf blower. Then she constructed a metal stand to support her different wings by soldering short pieces of wire together creating a 15 inch tall structure. A paper measuring scale was the fixed to the back of the structure where a spring supported the wing piece. As the simulated wind from the leaf blower blew across the wing, it stretched the spring by a small increment which could be measured on the paper scale. In addition, changes in static and dynamic air pressure were measured on two homemade water manometers. She then measured the changes in lift and pressure for all her wing designs and graphed all the results. She also kept accurate records of her experiments in a log book and wrote a detailed report of her investigation, literature search, experimental findings with mathematical calculations and graphs. When speaking with her, she was able to explain clearly what she did and made conclusions based on her original work.

On the other hand, there are projects that seem at first glance to be beyond the capabilities of a normal high school student. These are the ones which involve a mentor from the local university or biotech laboratory. Schools are now partnering with local colleges and labs to find mentors to work with their students on science fair projects. The projects that students select are usually a side investigation suggested by the mentor related to current research in which the mentor is now engaged. The student meets with the mentor for a few days a week over several months at the mentor’s lab. The mentor shows the student how to use sophisticated lab equipment and research techniques. The student then performs various experiments and learns to describe the results using cutting edge terminology. Although the projects maybe more sophisticated than the home grown ones, they are judged on the same criteria which involve the following questions: Are there any signs of originality and creativity? Can the student explain the results in simple terms? Were there repeated trials? Did the student keep accurate records in a log book and write a detailed report? Science fair judges need to be careful when scoring these projects and keeping them on a level playing field with all other projects. Although project complexity may range from simple to sophisticated, they need to use the same criteria and not be blown away by the sophisticated cutting edge ideas or lab techniques used by mentored student.

This passed Saturday, March 21, 2009; I attended the Regional IV Science held at Somerville High School in Somerville, MA. See the link at … http://shsscience.org/regionIV/ . You can see some photos of the fair at the link … http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/RegScFair32109
The regional event is where science fair winners from over 40 high schools north of Boston, MA exhibit their original projects and compete for prizes and spots to enter the State Science Fair, to be held April 30-May2, 2009 at MIT in Cambridge, MA. See link at … http://www.scifair.com/ . The state fair has over 200 participants from high schools around the state and the 6 regional science fairs.

I have been associated with the science fair for over 40 years, first as a high school teacher at Medford High School, in Medford, MA, sending students to the local, regional and state fairs and then participating as a Science Fair Judge. Although I have been retired from public education for several years, I still enjoy volunteering as a Science Fair Judge for local high school fairs and the regional fair.

As a judge, I have had the opportunity to discuss with the student participants their projects in depth. Although I have to limit my individual conversation to about 10 minutes per project so I can judge several projects in the time allowed, I get a good idea of the quality of work that the student has performed. To guide the judging process, there is a score card that addresses five areas of performance: 1. Scientific Approach, 2.Original Notebook, 3. Thoroughness, 4. Ingenuity and Creativity, and 5. Advancement in Science. All projects are judged on this same criteria.

When students decide to participate in their local fair and go on to the regional and state, their individual high school teacher carefully guides them through the process of selecting an interesting topic, keeping accurate records, doing repeated experimental trials and basing their conclusions on what they actually observed in their experiments.

Before enter a fair, students need to practice their public speaking abilities and have self confidence when exhibiting their projects. Not only are they asked questions by the judges but also the general public. They must learn to exude enthusiasm in their project and what they have accomplished. They have to be knowledgeable about their subject area and be able to express their knowledge to a range of audiences.

Students who have participated in a science fair program acquire life skills that get them ready for adult lives. Working individually or as a team, students learn how to tackle problems and make appropriate plans to find solutions. They learn communication skills in both public speaking and comprehensive writing. They learn how to make keen observations and keep accurate records. They learn mathematical and graphic skills to calculate and illustrate there findings. Participating in a science fair program prepares young students for the 21st Century, ready to pursue a range of meaningful careers.