Thursday, December 8, 2011:  ISMET/OIA In-School Science Fair

Friday, March 23, 2012: INTEL Northwest Science Expo at PSU http://www.nwse.org/

See attached files at the bottom of this page regarding proposed topics and project board layout, possible judges' questions, tips on answering them.

What to expect on School Science Fair Day:
Students need to set up their boards, data books, and exhibits at least one day prior to the fair.  The judges will be given some time to look at your boards/exhibits and compile any questions they have about your project.  So, your boards have to be well-thought out and properly organized. After that, each student will be called in turn to get interviewed by the judges.  In this interview, the student is expected to give a 2-4 minute interactive, interesting upbeat, dynamic, and concise presentation about their project.  Due to time constraints, make sure to highlight all important facts about your project and research findings.  Students should be prepared to answer questions while they are presenting and NOT lose their train of thought.  The judges need to make sure that you really and thoroughly understand your topic and researched it well.  You need to communicate an understanding of why you did things the way you did, and why you obtained the results you have, with a proper understanding of possible sources of error and the such.  You also need to be able to answer questions about why your project is useful and how its findings can be applied in real life.
This process is almost identical to the process of judging at the upcoming INTEL Northwest Science Expo at PSU.  There is a limit of 18 middle school projects per school that are allowed to participate at this annual INTEL event.  Hence, only the top 18 projects from the School Science Fair judging will be able to move on to the INTEL Expo.

At the INTEL Northwest Science Expo, your Project Exhibit needs to include the following:

1. A Poster Board outlining the Scientific Method Used to conduct your project (i.e. Research/Background, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Data Findings, Conclusion, Pictures where applicable)
2. A Project Data Book/Science Log outlining data collection notes
3. Hands-on Project Display or Exhibit
4. A Research Paper
5. An Abstract that you are free to update online given your login information

For more details about these components, please visit the links below
Display and Safety Regulations:
Parts of the Exhibit  http://www.nwse.org/exhibit
Sample Board Displays http://www.nwse.org/displayphotos
Sample Abstracts  http://www.nwse.org/node/44
Team Projects    http://www.nwse.org/teams
Judging Criteria  http://www.nwse.org/judgingtips
Judging Process    http://www.nwse.org/judgeorganization

Check out the INTEL NWSE Safety Check-in Video on Thursday night one day before fair day: http://www.nwse.org/safetychecker
 
This takes place Thursday Night from 5-9 pm when each student goes to PSU's Peter Stott Gym to check-in their project and setup their exhibit.  Students need to take the following with them on Thursday night: their completed and signed ORIGINAL INTEL NWSE forms and paperwork, their board, science data log, research paper, exhibit/project display/experiment
 
Here is also a detailed schedule for Thursday Night and Friday (Fair Day):
http://www.nwse.org/msstudentschedule
 

General Guidelines (PDF 81 KB)
Project Board Display Guidelines (PDF 29 KB)
Possible Judges Questions and Tips on Answering them (PDF 136 KB)
Parts of Exhibit and Sample Abstracts (PDF 233 KB)
INTEL Judging Criteria and Guidelines (PDF 273 KB)
Before Experimentation, PLEASE READ: OIA Project Guidelines for all Projects (PDF 300 KB)

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