W. I. S.
E. 2003
Wonders of the Imagination Science Exhibition
First annual
community science fair offered by Bedford Public Schools Community Education
Program
Instruction Booklet
Eligibility
All interested students in grade
levels K through 12 attending Bedford Public Schools, as well as homeschooled
students and students attending private, parochial, and other public schools
in the southeast Michigan area
Registration
Materials
To enter the
science fair, you need the following materials:
·
This instruction booklet (one per family)
·
Scoring booklet (one per student)
·
Family entry form (one per family)
Location
Bedford High
School cafeteria
8285 Jackman
Road
Temperance,
Michigan
Schedule
Friday,
February 28, 2003
·
Students register and set up their projects (Session
1): 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (Students must bring their scoring booklets
with the coach’s areas already scored.)
Saturday,
March 1, 2003
·
Students register and set up their projects (Session
2): 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. (Students must bring their scoring booklets
with the coach’s areas already scored.)
·
Optional scheduled interviews: 9:00 a.m.
- 12:00 noon (The individually scheduled times for interviews will be posted
at the science fair and, at least a week before the science fair, at the website
http://www.geocities.com/wondersoftheimagination/.)
·
Public viewing: 12:00 noon - 4:30 p.m. (Students
may, but are not required to, stay at their exhibits during all or part of
the public viewing period to talk with visitors about their projects.)
·
Awards ceremony: 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. (Each
winning student will receive an Award Certificate, an award ribbon, and a
prize. All students will receive Certificates
of Achievement and a participation ribbon. After receiving their Award Certificates, all
winning students may, if they wish, talk to the audience for about a minute
about their projects.)
·
Students remove their projects: 5:30 p.m.
- 6:00 p.m. (Exhibits may not be removed from the science fair before 4:30
p.m., but must be removed no later than 6:00 p.m. or they will be discarded.)
Registration Deadlines and Entry Fees
Your completed
and signed family entry form, with payment for the total amount due, must
be received no later than Friday, January 31, 2003. The non-refundable entry fee is $10.00 for
one student, $18.00 for two students, or $25.00 for your entire family.
Bring or mail
the family entry form with your payment to:
Bedford Community Education Office
Bedford Public Schools Administration
Building
1623 West Sterns Road
Temperance, Michigan 48182
The office
(telephone number 734-850-6036) is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m.
until 4:30 p.m.
Questions
If you have any questions or comments
regarding W.I.S.E. 2003, including the information in this instruction booklet,
please contact Bill Werner, Science Fair Director, by e-mail at [email protected]
or by phone at 734-847-3446.
You can also visit the website http://www.geocities.com/wondersoftheimagination/
for any updated information on the science fair. If you have friends who would also like to enter the science fair,
tell them about this site. It can
be used to download all the registration materials—this instruction booklet
(in Microsoft Word format), and the scoring booklet and family entry form
(both in Microsoft Excel format).
INSTRUCTIONS
TO STUDENTS
Name, Theme, Slogan, and Logo
The name of the science fair, “Wonders
of the Imagination Science Exhibition,” emphasizes that from the scientist’s
imagination springs discovery.
The science fair’s theme, “promoting
the wise use of science,” stresses that the wise use of science benefits society.
The science fair’s slogan, "In
science… the WISE ask the WHYs," highlights that the wise scientist is
always asking questions.
The science fair’s logo, the owl,
is widely recognized as being wise. The
logo incorporates the letters “W” (red), “I” (blue), “S” (yellow), and “E”
(green).
Objectives
The science
fair’s objectives are for you to express your interest in and excitement about
science, gain scientific knowledge and improve your scientific abilities from
year to year, and share your knowledge with others and learn from what other
students have done.
The science fair offers a flexible
structure that allows you to select which components (or parts of components)
you complete and the level at which you complete them, tailoring the project
to fit your grade level and interests. For
example, you are not required to record information in all the appropriate
sections of your science fair workbook or to write a report or to be interviewed.
However, the more steps you do and the more comprehensively you do
them, the better your project will be and the higher the rating level of the
Certificate of Achievement you will receive.
Create the best project you can this year and then continue to strive
for a higher score every year!
1. Select a coach.
·
Your coach
should have as many of the following characteristics as possible:
o
Able and willing
to coach you periodically while you are doing your project
o
Able and willing
to objectively evaluate and score your completed project
o
Available
to coach you and evaluate your projects consistently over several years
o
Currently
or formerly employed in a scientific capacity, including the teaching profession
·
Your coach
could be, but does not need to be, a parent or other family relative.
·
Since your
home is the ideal place where your interests and careers are nurtured, your
family’s participation in helping you with your project is encouraged, provided
that you fully understand your project.
2. Select the topic
of your project.
Get some ideas for your project from
all types of science resources.
Visit science websites:
· The Internet Public Library: This site offers a comprehensive science fair project resource guide with articles, program ideas, and resources. It includes links to more than thirty other websites, ranging from those of museums, universities, and magazines, to resources such as dictionaries, periodic tables, and timelines.
http://www.ipl.org/youth/projectguide
·
Science Fair Idea Exchange: From the Science Hobbyist Website,
this website includes an archive of project ideas in biology, chemistry, physics,
and psychology, and links to other sites. Students post and exchange new ideas.
http://www.halcyon.com/sciclub/cgi-pvt/scifair/guestbook.html
·
The National Student Research Center: This site for older students
includes an electronic journal of student research, recommended websites,
plus research projects and more.
·
Spotlighting Science Fairs (Franklin Institute Science Museum)
http://sln.fi.edu/qanda/spotlight1/spotlight1.html
·
The Exploratorium Learning Studio
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ls/pathfinders/scifairs
·
It’s Science Fair Time (an eight-week plan for doing a project)
http://www.cecm.winnipeg.mb.ca/resources/tours/Marlene/sciencefair.html
·
The Ultimate Science Fair Resource (links to suppliers of science
fair materials)
·
Science News Headlines
http://yahooey.com/scihead1.htm
Request science equipment catalogs:
·
School-Tech, Inc. (800-521-2832)
·
Scientifics (800-728-6999)
·
Pitsco-LEGO Dacta (800-362-4308).
Visit science museums:
·
COSI, in Toledo or Columbus
·
Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (the largest science
museum in a single building in the Western Hemisphere)
·
Chicago Academy of Sciences Nature Museum.
Review or subscribe to science magazines:
·
Ask, for ages 6 to 9 (800-821-0115)
·
Archeology (877-275-9782)
·
Astronomy (800-533-6644)
·
Audubon (800-274-4201)
·
Click, for grades 1 to 2 (800-821-0115)
·
Dig, archeology for ages 9 to 14 (800-821-0115)
·
Discover (800-829-9132)
·
Muse, for grades 4 and up (800-821-0115)
·
National Geographic (800-647-5463)
·
National Geographic World, for ages 8 to 14 (800-647-5463)
·
National Wildlife (800-611-1599)
·
Natural History (800-234-5252)
·
Odyssey, for grades 5 and up (800-821-0115)
·
Planetary Report (800-996-7537)
·
Ranger Rick, for ages 8 and up (800-611-1599)
·
Science News (800-552-4412)
·
Scientific American (800-333-1199)
·
Wild Animal Baby, for ages 1 to 3 (800-611-1599)
·
Your Big Backyard, for ages 3 to 7 (800-611-1599)
·
Zoobooks, for ages 4 to 12 (800-992-5034)
Think about your everyday world and
the things that you like, such as food, flowers, pets, dance, music, and sports.
Science is everywhere you look. Let
your imagination roam, and then select a topic that you’re excited about and
that will challenge your abilities.
Consider a project in any of the
following branches of science: biology
(including anatomy, botany, entomology, herpetology, ichthyology, ornithology,
and zoology), chemistry, earth science (including astronomy, ecology, geology,
meteorology, and oceanography), mathematics and computer science, physics,
and social science (including archeology, anthropology, and psychology).
3. Decide what type of project you want to do.
The types of projects you can do
include collections, models, and experiments dealing with science and mathematics.
Commercial kits should not be used for any type of project.
·
Collect biological or geological specimens and categorize them.
·
Plan and build a scientific model. Consider not only models demonstrating the principles of physics,
but also models from biology, chemistry, earth science, and mathematics.
·
Do an experiment. Think of a question or problem, write a prediction
or hypothesis, and set up a test that will help you answer your question.
As you conduct your experiment, record your results, including measurements
and observations. Then draw conclusions that answer your question, based on
the results of your experiment. Be certain to follow experimental design,
collect data, and draw some accurate conclusions based on the data.
Here’s an approach to generate ideas
for an experiment, with sample answers shown in parentheses:
a) Select a subject.
(Plants)
b) What materials
are readily available to conduct an experiment using this subject?
(Seeds, soil, water, light)
c) What does
the subject do? How does it act? (Grows leaves on stems, produces seeds, grows
roots)
d) How can a set of materials be changed to affect what the subject does or how it acts (from question b)?
o (Seeds: change the type, number, age, depth of planting)
o (Soil: change
the type, amount, temperature)
o (Water: change
the type [such as tap water, well water, distilled water], amount, temperature,
frequency of watering)
o (Light: change
the color, intensity, length of time, angle at which the light strikes the
plant)
e) What types
of quantitative data (measurements) and qualitative data (observations) can
be collected to measure or describe the change (from question c)? (Size or numbers or color of leaves, diameter
of stem, size or number of seeds produced, length or diameter of roots)
f) Formulate
your project idea using an independent variable from question d (age of seeds)
and a dependent variable from question e (length of roots) to arrive at a
title. (The Effect of the Age of Seeds
on the Length of Roots)
g) Or, better
yet, formulate a hypothesis. (The
Length of Roots Decreases with the Age of the Planted Seeds)
4. Complete and submit your signed family entry form.
·
Complete the shaded
areas of the form using black or blue ink.
If you downloaded the form from the science fair website, you can complete
the form using the Excel program.
·
If the last name of
the father, mother, or any of the students is different from the family’s
last name, enter the last name as well as the first name in the box for their
first name.
·
Enter the names of the
students in alphabetical order. The
form has space for four students. If
you are registering more than four students, use an additional form, completing
only the information for the additional students.
·
Enter your e-mail address
so that W.I.S.E. can more easily communicate with you about your project,
if necessary. If your family has only
one e-mail address, indicate the address with the information for Student
#1.
·
If you are a homeschooled
student, indicate “Homeschooled” in the “Name of School” box and any homeschooling
associations to which you belong in the “School District” box.
·
If you are a student
in grades K through 8 in Bedford Public Schools and you want to compete for
entry into the Monroe County Science Fair, indicate “Yes” in the “MCSF?”
box. Additional requirements are shown
in section 13.
· If you want to be interviewed by a judge at W.I.S.E. 2003, indicate “Yes” in the “Interview?” box.
·
In the “Type of Project” box, indicate “collection,” “model,”
or “experiment.”
·
If your project is an experiment or model that needs electrical
power to operate a working computer, indicate “Yes” in the “Working Computer?”
box. Bring a surge protector and a
heavy duty extension cord to the science fair.
·
In the “Branch of Science” box, indicate “biology,” “chemistry,”
“earth science,” “math and computer science,” “physics,” or “social science.”
·
Enter the “Working Title of Project.” This does not have to be exactly the same as
the title appearing on the display.
·
List any family members who are volunteering to help with the
science fair and how they would like to help, such as the following:
o Mentor at
one or more of the drop-in mentoring sessions. (See section 6.)
o Interview
and judge at the science fair (especially persons in the teaching, science,
mathematics, and engineering professions).
o Recruit other
volunteers, especially mentors and judges, from the following—schools at all
levels, companies involved in scientific and engineering work, libraries,
museums, metroparks, the zoo, the botanical gardens, conservation groups,
and public television.
o Solicit prizes
and contributions from individuals, businesses, and other organizations—gift
certificates and actual science-related products, such as equipment, kits,
books, magazine subscriptions, and computer software.
o Assist with
the science fair’s initial set-up and final clean-up.
o Assist at
the science fair registration table.
o Provide security
during the science fair.
o Photograph
the science fair.
o Assist at
the awards ceremony.
·
Indicate how many family members would like a sports-gray,
commemorative T-shirt with the design illustrated here. If a sufficient number are ordered,
the design will be silk screened in full color (four colors). Otherwise, the design will be silk screened
in one color.
· Initial the form in the appropriate box to indicate that you have selected a science fair project that will challenge you and that you will use your best efforts to do it well.
· Submit your signed family entry form.
5. Plan and execute
your project.
Use the scoring booklet for guidance about what features make
an outstanding project. Record information
under the appropriate section of your workbook (a loose-leaf notebook binder).
Note that the workbook sections named below are identified with
code letters in parentheses indicating what sections of the workbook are suitable
for what types of projects. The letter
“C” indicates “collections,” the letter “M” indicates “models,” and the letter
“E” indicates “experiments.”
