Kiwanis South Eastern Alberta Regional Science Fair

Science fair in Medicine Hat has a rich history of producing great projects and encouraging deductive reasoning skills and science education. Students that participate in the regional science fair have the opportunity to travel to the annual Canada Wide Science Fair. In 2008, a project from Medicine Hat received the Gold Medal at the Canada-Wide Science Fair. The opportunities are endless for students involved in science fair.

If you require more reasons to participate in science fair here are some more:

• Use the scientific method to develop an understanding of controls and variables.
• Take an open and creative approach to problem solving.
• Sharpen their writing skills.
• Gain skills in library use.
• Learn that a successful outcome is based not on personal opinion but on scientific fact.
• Develop time management skills.
• Develop public speaking skills as they present projects to classmates and judges.
• Compete in a science fair where students are recognized for academic achievement. The judging process also provides students with the invaluable experience of developing poise and thinking on their feet.

If you are looking for more information or some assistance on getting started with your project, or starting a science fair club at your school please contact Praxis.  

Why should you get involved with science fair?

With the jam-packed schedules of today's families, why would either a student or a parent want to add one more major activity? Clearly, any school project assigned to a student should meet a stringent test for usefulness. Surprising to some, a science fair project is one of the best learning experiences a student can undertake. And, if it is taken seriously, it can be an excellent way to earn significant prizes, qualify for scholarships, and distinguish a college application.

Conceptually, a science fair project is very straightforward. A student chooses a scientific question he or she would like to answer. Then, library and Internet research on the question give the student the background information he or she needs to formulate a hypothesis and design an experiment. After writing a report to summarize this research, the student performs the experiment, draws his or her conclusions, and presents the results to teachers and classmates using a display board. Most students do their projects for a school science fair, but in many cases, students can enter that same project in fairs at the city or county level. This is the first step in competitions that lead up to the international level, where prizes total over $3,000,000 and the top winners take home $50,000 scholarships.

What makes a science fair project such a great learning experience is that it involves so much more than science. If the student is in middle school, the research report will most likely be the longest paper the student has ever written. Indeed, California curriculum standards call for papers of only 1-2 pages in length through the 8th grade, and any decent research report will be at least that long. The bibliography for the report will also be the first ever for some students. And, while library research is still important, these reports are a great way to hone computer research skills, as well as to learn the ins and outs of common office programs, such as word processors and spreadsheets. Most projects also involve a good deal of math, and all students get an opportunity to enhance their presentation skills when they prepare their display boards and discuss their projects with the judges.

A science fair project will also have a longer duration than any other assignment a student has done. In contrast to the typical school homework due the next day or perhaps a week hence, a science fair project requires a student to learn to plan over two or three months, a skill of immense importance in adulthood. Procrastination is definitely not rewarded.

Savvy students, especially those who work their way up to higher levels of competition, learn even more about communications skills. They learn the importance of selecting topics and fine-tuning their presentations in ways that will make them most likely to impress science fair judges. While some may bemoan this lack of purity in the pursuit of science, the fact is that even a professional scientist must compete for funds to continue his or her research. When better to learn how to persuade others than before your livelihood depends on it?

A science fair project even provides an opportunity for the discussion of ethical issues, such as plagiarism and falsification of data. Indeed, such a discussion is highly recommended. The ease of copying information from the Internet is hard to resist, and many students are far ahead of their teachers in understanding what is possible.

Of course, learning about science is at the heart of a science fair project. Our society relies more on science every day, and science fairs are a great way for students to become more knowledgeable about how the world around them works. Every citizen needs sufficient science literacy to make educated decisions about what he or she reads in the media, about health care, and about other every-day problems.

Preparing a science fair project is an excellent example of what education experts call active learning or inquiry (also "hands-on" learning). It is a very effective instructional method; indeed, it is recommended as a cornerstone of successful science teaching. Yet, according to the National Research Council, active learning is not employed often enough in the classroom and its absence is seen as one of the key factors behind kids losing interest in science and not performing to their potential.

Source: sciencebuddies.org

Links:

• Anatomy of a Science Fair Project Guest Blog, Scientific American Blog Network
• Award-winning teen-age science in action Video on TED.com
• Best School Science Projects
• BiologyJunction.com: Science Fair
• Canada Wide Science Fair
• Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair
• Discovery Education Science Fair Central offers ideas for science fair projects and experiments for kids
• Dr. Shawn's Idea Bank
• Free Science Fair Projects
• Google 2011 Virtual Science Fair Winners on TEDX Talk
• Hunkin's Experiments (over 200 home experiments)
• IPL Science Fair Project Resource Guide
• ISD77 CyberFair - Science Fair Ideas
• Judging Science Fair - Rubic
• Kiwanis South East Alberta Science Fair
• Neuroscience for Kids - Science Fair Projects
• School Science Fairs Homepage
• Science Bob (Science Fair ideas)
• Science Buddies
• Science Fair Central offers ideas for science fair projects and experiments.
• Science Fair Ideas Exchange science projects
• Science Fair Ideas
• Science fair projects 13
• Science Fair Projects and Ideas
• Science Fair Projects With Complete Instructions
• Science Fairs -- Spotlight
• Timber Ridge Virtual Science Fair
• Ultimate Science Fair Resource - Ideas, Information, Help, Links and Projects
• A 14 minute animated short explaining the steps to completing a science fair project. Created by Kevin Temmer. http://www.kevintemmer.com Awards: International Student Media Festival "Excellence in Media Production" and "Judges' Favorite", Grades 9-12, Animation (2011).

Results:

Congratulations to all of our 2012 participants! Great work!

The Regional Science Fair Committee would like to thank all of our volunteers for their hard work and dedication throughout the day of the fair.

The students that will attend the May 12-19, 2012 Canada Wide Science Fair in Charlottetown, PEI are:

For complete 2012 Kiwanis South East Alberta Regional Science Fair Results and media coverage, please click here.

Congratulations to all of our 2011 participants! Great work!

The Regional Science Fair Committee would like to thank all of our volunteers for their hard work and dedication throughout the day of the fair.

The students that will attend the Canada Wide Science Fair in Toronto, ON are

For complete 2011 Kiwanis South East Alberta Regional Science Fair Results please click here.

A founding member of: