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A Beginner's Guide to Science Project Competitions in Indiana
Challenging
opportunities await students of all ages as they explore the realms
of original research. Perhaps they have an open house during the
day for other classes or in the evening for the parents and community
so that students may show their exhibits. By the time students are
in the upper elementary and /or middle school, even wider opportunities
exist to showcase their talents. Having done science research for
35 years as a teacher and having helped with 14 projects as a parent,
I should like to explain those opportunities in hopes that you and
your students will enter one or more of these competitions and enjoy
them as much as my students and children have done throughout the
years.
Regional
Science Fair Organization and Registration
Indiana is divided
into 12 geographic regions with each holding its own science fair
in the spring. A list of fairs and their directors can be obtained
from the website www.sefi.org. Typically fairs are held on a Saturday
in March at a sponsoring university. Students must pre-register
with the director by a predetermined date, typically 3-4 weeks ahead
of the fair. A fee may be charged. Elementary students’ participation
varies with each fair. Fairs vary as to whether there is a quota
of students in the Junior Division (typically grades 7-8) and Senior
Division (grades 9-12).
Some fairs will
separate the students by biological and physical projects. Others
may separate entries in both the junior and senior divisions by
disciplines such as botany, microbiology, and physics. Students
should have a display board with the essentials of research clearly
posted: statement of purpose or problem, hypothesis, methods, data,
results, conclusion, and abstract. A written paper is encouraged
at the elementary and junior levels and is essential in the senior
division. A project notebook detailing the development and data
accumulation should be done especially at the senior level. Guidelines
are in the booklet listed in the next paragraph.
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Rules and Regulations
All research must adhere to "International Rules for Precollege Science Research" published by Science Service, Science Education Department, 1719 N Street, NW, Washington D. C. 20036. The phone number is 202-785-2255 and the fax number is 202-785-1243. The email is sciedu@sciserv.org. All of the student pages needed for research can be downloaded from the Science Service Website. For students in the junior and senior divisions there are mandatory pages to be filled out prior to research being done. The ancient adage of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure surely applies here. If the teacher guides the student as directed by this manual, then his/her project should be eligible for advancement competitions without hassles. Photocopying of the booklet with credit due is allowed so every student may have a copy. It honestly does take extra time to follow the rules but the inherent lessons within are worth it not only in terms of proper protocol but in checks of projects for safety issues as well. If you have questions, there are phone numbers and emails of professional scientists on the Scientific Review Committee who help you.
There are two times that you must submit paperwork to your regional fair prior to showing up for fair day. First, after all the above paperwork has been filled out, you must submit the required pages (usually 4 plus a statement of the research plan) from the Science Service booklet to the Scientific Review Committee of your regional fair. The committee then reviews it for any problems and signs the methodology as approved or recommends revisions. We typically send our completed protocol forms from the Science Service booklet 4-6 weeks ahead of the fair but other directors may have their own guidelines. Second, an abstract must also be submitted close to the end of the research. Since my students are still doing finishing touches, we usually turn our abstracts in two weeks before the fair and then bring an updated copy if need be in order to reflect the final stages and mathematical analysis of the results. Some fairs may allow you to send both forms and abstracts at the same time. The regional director will advise you of his/her policy when you ask. Students should always have photocopies of all signed forms and reports
It is absolutely imperative that any project with human subjects undergo an Institutional Review Board re methodology before asking those humans human subjects anything about the project. Similarly, there are certain topics that must have a Scientific Review Committee before any work can begin or student faces disqualification. The manual tells you the kinds of persons that must be on the committee. These kinds of projects must be reviewed before any experimentation can take place. See the guidelines as to choosing appropriate personnel for the local review boards. This paperwork must also be submitted to the regional fair along with the protocol paperwork mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Once in a while these persons may reroute you to a different organism or drug or procedure that would enhance the project as well as serving as a double check for safety; they all serve without pay and I write each of them an annual thank you note. For any student whose project requires these pre-certifications, all paperwork and final copy of his/her background library research must be all done by December as it takes from the first of the month to Christmas vacation to shuffle all the papers around and allow these persons enough time to read and review. I usually hand deliver them or pick them up on the way home from school.
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Display and presentation
About three to four weeks before the fair, the Senior Division students will start to plan their display boards. Our middle school and elementary schools will do theirs four to six weeks ahead and use the commercially available cardboard foldout boards. Our elementary schools provide a display board for each child to allow each person to compete at an equal level. High school displays are typically much more detailed simply because there is so much more information to put on them. We construct ours out of lightweight board, paneling, foam board cores, pegboards or whatever material is available to the family. Hand-me-down boards are customary and are shared in neighborhoods as well. One year I even cut, with a hand saw on two sawhorses, a piece of maple stained paneling and hinged it together. Not only did both children use it for science displays, but my son used it for a history project and my daughter used it for her senior open house. Total cost/use was about a dollar. We also stress the same topics as present above but with matting and stick-on letters to make the board as attractive as possible. Commercial companies make a packet of titles (problem, data, conclusion, etc.) for about a dollar. They are a godsend. Even our elementary students will matte their pages to make the board attractive. I share construction paper if my students need it. Some will even double matte the papers because they look so good that way. Guidelines and size limits are given in the Science Service booklet.
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Importance
Recently the father of a student and also one of my former students told me that the students were "marketing" their work. We are trying to be the best we can be. In the real world business contracts are made and lost on the presentation methods by the aspiring speaker. Thus, science projects are indeed cross-curricular. Students learn research planning, writing, proofreading, rewriting, display/marketing techniques and public speaking in addition to the scientific problem under investigation. Individual research closely aligns with numerous state and national science standards. Lastly, the students should dress up a bit to show pride in their work. The story, "Clothes Make the Man" applies here as the students are so proud of what they are doing that dressing up increases their self-esteem.
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Advancement opportunities
Where do you go from here? Each regional fair will select three junior division students and four-six senior division students to advance to the Indiana Science and Engineering Fair in Indianapolis. The 2002-2003 school year will allow student research teams to present for the first time. In that case no more than one team and one single project may enter from the Senior Division. Similarly there is a maximum of three entrants in the Finalist division. The fair is usually at the end of March or very early April. The next one will be April 4, 2003. The teacher accompanies the student for an exciting day of presentation and an awards banquet to culminate the day. Food and awards paid by Science Education Foundation of Indiana (SEFI) with the Dr. William Gilmore as Executive Director. A stipend may be available to help with overnight expenses for schools that are not close to Indianapolis. A new national competition allows the top state junior division winners to compete for a national program also but there is no automatic advancement for them.
The top two projects from each regional fair will also advance to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (IISEF) in May. This year's fair is in Cleveland, Ohio, from May 11-17, 2003. Plane fare, hotel, registration, and most meals are provided. Some fairs also provide a meal allowance for meals not served to the group as a whole. The three other projects from each regional fair form a pool of 36 from which two additional projects will be chosen to attend the International. At all levels thus mentioned there are monetary prizes, scholarship opportunities, books, trips, computers, and/or other awards as donated by government, educational institutions, and other organizations.
Of course, the student can also list his attendance for college applications, scholarships, and personal resumes. I am realistic enough to know that not every student will win a prize somewhere. By the time mine have been in the local science fair and the regional, most will have won something. But the greater benefit is in knowing how to plan a project on any topic, research it, and the present it effectively for review. My own daughter did not continue her science research career but used the skills to do music research at her university and enter the Undergraduate Research Showcase. Her comment upon winning it three years in a row was, "Mom, I knew how to do the research and present it because of science fair." My son used his skills in doing business competitions at the regional and national level for his university.
The following guidelines will give you a general idea of how to plan your year to achieve the maximum value from the research project.