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STEM Fair Parent Night
Ms. Wine and Mrs. NowlinWednesday, September 16, 2015
Why is STEM Fair important?
• Helps students prepare for MSA in 5th grade• Allows students to explore science areas of interest• Teaches students essential skills for planning and completing long-term projects• Integrates science, math, technology, reading, and oral language
Components of a STEM Fair Project
• Question• Hypothesis/Prediction• Materials• Variables• Procedures• Data Collection Tool• Results (with written explanation)• Conclusion• Research Paper (4th and 5th grades)
Question• Must be a testable experiment – no models or demonstrations!• Must be safe – no testing animals or people• No comparing product brands• The question asked must produce measurable results using some sort of tool (ruler, scale, tape measure, etc)
•EXAMPLE: Which color of light affects plant growth
the most?” (measuring tool – centimeters)
“I predict ______ because …”
**Hypotheses must be based on background knowledge or research!**
MaterialsBe sure to list all materials used - no matter how insignificant they may seem – and the amount used. Remember to use metric units.
Ex: 50 mL water, 2 meters of string, 3 bowls
Variables• Controlled Variable – the parts of the experiment that are kept the same• Independent Variable – what is changed on purpose (size, temperature, weight)• Dependent Variable – what we hope will change during the investigation
Examples of Variables
“Which color of light affects plant growth the most?”
Controlled Variables: • size and type of the plants • type of soil • wattage of bulbs used • amount of water given • temperature of the room
Independent Variable:• color of the light bulb
Dependent Variable:• height of the plants
Procedures*The goal for procedures is for someone to follow the experiment exactly as you meant for it to be conducted.
*The procedures should be written in complete sentences and organized in numbered steps. Each step should be very detailed!
*The first step should always be “gather your materials.”
*Make sure to when writing your steps that your unit measurements are in metric. For example, it is NOT 1 cup you would write 250 ml
*Include exact amounts and times!
*You must repeat the activity a minimum of three times.
The measurement and data collection tools are used to measure and record the results. Examples of measurement tools are stop watches, kitchen scales, rulers, and tape measures. Measurements must be recorded in metric and include an average of each trial. “Eyeballing” the results will not produce an accurate or reliable measurement, and therefore
would make creating a chart and/or graph very difficult.
Results: Data Collection Tool
• Results should be gathered from multiple trials – usually between 3 and 5 – and recorded in a chart, table, or journal• All measurements should be in METRIC units only - centimeters, meters, grams, milligrams, liters, milliliters, degrees CELCIUS
Great Conversion Websitehttp://www.metric-conversions.org/
• Be sure to calculate an average for each trial• PHOTOS, if applicable – do not bring actual artifacts
Effect of Weight on Speed of Pendulum(Time recorded in minutes and seconds)
Weight Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average
1 weight
2 weight
3 weight
Results: Graph and Written • A graph should accompany your chart to show your results – bar graphs and line graphs are commonly used. Graphs should be neat, large, and easy-to-read. Most teachers have graph paper available, if needed. This website is kid-friendly and can be used to make computer-generated graphs: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx
**IMPORTANT: Many students forget to write a brief explanation of their results. This should be a short paragraph and is simply a summary of the findings.
This is not to be confused with the conclusion.
ConclusionThe conclusion addresses the accuracy of the prediction and provides a clear answer to the question based on the investigation’s results.
This is also where any mistakes, problems, or errors can be stated. Any changes or improvements that could be made to the project can also be stated here, along with how the knowledge gained from the experiment applies to the “real world.”
Research Paper4th and 5th grades ONLY
Research papers should include:• Title page (name, project title, school, grade, and teacher)
• Acknowledgements (personal thank you to all who helped)
• Background research related to your topic• Sources/Bibliography citing websites and books used
The research paper does not have to be longer than a page, but should have all of the required parts.
Questions?
Please take a look at the sample projects. Thank you for coming!
E-mail:[email protected]
