Student Guide

50th ANNUAL

DUTCHESS COUNTY REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR APRIL 4, 2009

DUTCHESS COMMUNITY COLLEGE 53 PENDELL ROAD POUGHKEEPSIE, NY 12601 www.dcsciencefair.org

Prepared by Dr. Maung Htoo October, 2005 Updated December, 2009

BACKGROUND OF DUTCHESS COUNTY REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR • Started in 1959, now in our 50th year • Goal is to enhance science education • One of the longest running regional science fairs in the country • Held annually, normally at the beginning of April • Students from 5th grade through high school • In 2007, over 230 finalists from more than 35 schools competed • All volunteer, non-profit organization • Supported by the community and national organizations • Approximately 200 qualified volunteer judges many of whom have advanced degrees • Judges are knowledgeable and student friendly • Director: Maung S. Htoo, PhD, FAIC ([email protected]) • Website: www.dcsciencefair.org BENEFITS OF ENTERING DUTCHESS COUNTY REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR 1. Perform any safe scientific experiment that you like 2. Acquire useful skills in research, organization and performing experiments 3. Acquire useful skills in putting together an effective visual display 4. Enhance one-on-one interaction with science teacher or mentor 5. Acquire science and engineering knowledge gained through experiments 6. Meet qualified judges at the county level 7. Acquire useful communication skills in presenting to the judges 8. Meet and learn from finalists from other schools in Dutchess County 9. Gain opportunity to win special awards from more than 50 local and national organizations (examples: American Cancer Society, American Chemical Society, Dutchess County Dental Society, Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, National Association of Biology Teachers, Society of Plastics Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, United States Armed Forces, Union College, Vassar Brothers Institute, Yale University) 10. Gain opportunity to win cash awards from competitive judging 11. Gain opportunity to win an all-expense paid trip to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair (winner of the Senior Division, grades 10-12) 12. Enhance resume for job and college application

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO ENTER • Only winners of local school science fairs in Dutchess County. Applications and brochures for the Dutchess County Regional Science Fair will be given to these winners. However, if your high school does not have a science fair, contact Dr. Htoo at [email protected].

• 5th through 12th grade students • Individual projects (limited number of 2 member team projects in 5th and 6th grade only) • Your category choices: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Earth and Space Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Behavioral and Social Sciences

HOW TO PUT TOGETHER A SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT 1. PICK YOUR TOPIC Pick an idea of what you want to study. Ideas may come from hobbies or problems you see that need solutions. Your science teacher and/or adult sponsor may also have ideas for your topic.

2. RESEARCH YOUR TOPIC Go to the library or internet and learn everything you can on the topic. If necessary, write or email companies for specific information.

3. ORGANIZE Organize everything you have learned about the topic. At this point you should narrow your hypothesis by focusing on a particular idea.

4. MAKE A TIMETABLE Choose a topic that not only interests you but can be done in the amount of time you have. Use a calendar to identify important dates. Allow plenty of time to experiment and collect data, even simple experiments may not go as you expect the first time or even the second time. Also, leave time to put together an exhibit.

5. PLAN YOUR EXPERIMENTS Give careful thought to experimental design. Once you have a feasible idea, write a research plan. The plan should explain how you will do the experiments and exactly what will be involved.

6. CONSULT AND GET APPROVALS You are required to discuss your research plan with your science teacher or adult sponsor and obtain approval to perform the experiment. Review the section on "Rules Governing All Exhibits" at the Dutchess County Regional Science Fair website www.dcsciencefair.org and make sure that your experiment complies with the rules.

7. CONDUCT YOUR EXPERIMENT During experimentation, keep detailed notes of each and every experiment, measurement, and observation in the "Project Data Book". Make sure to include control experiments in which none of the variables are changed. Good notes show consistency and thoroughness to the judges.

8. EXAMINE YOUR RESULTS When you complete your experiments, examine and organize your findings. Did your experiments give you the expected results? Why and why not? Was your experiment performed with the exact same steps each time? Are there other explanations that you had not considered or observed? Were there errors in your observations? Remember that understanding errors and reporting that a suspected variable did not change the results can be valuable information. If possible, statistically analyze your data.

9. DRAW CONCLUSIONS Which variables are important? Did you collect enough data? Were the results reproducible? Do you need to conduct more experimentation? Keep an open mind. Never alter results to fit a theory. If your results do not support your hypothesis, you still have accomplished successful scientific research.

HOW YOUR PROJECT WILL BE JUDGED CREATIVE ABILITY...............................................................30 POINTS SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT AND ENGINEERING GOALS......30 POINTS THOROUGHNESS....................................................................15 POINTS SKILL.........................................................................................15 POINTS CLARITY...................................................................................10 POINTS JUDGES EVALUATE AND FOCUS ON: 1) What the student did in the current year 2) How well the student followed the scientific methodologies 3) The detail and accuracy of research as documented in the data book 4) Use of experimental procedures JUDGES LOOK FOR: 1) Well thought-out research. 2) Significance of your project in its field, 3) How thorough you were. Did you leave something out? Did you start with four experiments and only finish three? JUDGES APPLAUD…Students who can speak freely and confidently about their work. They are not interested in memorized speeches - they simply want to talk with you about your research to see if you have a good grasp of your project from start to finish. Besides asking the obvious questions, judges often ask questions to test your insight into your project such as "What was your role?”, “What didn't you do?” and “What would be your next step?”

WHEN SHOULD YOU START YOUR PROJECT START AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. NO LATER THAN JANUARY 15, 2009

HELPFUL RESOURCES 1. www.dcsciencefair.org Provides detailed information on registration, entry fee, rules governing exhibits, exhibition and judging, public visitation, awards and award presentation and winners of last years awards at the Dutchess County Regional Science Fair. 2. www.sciserv.org/isef/document/form2009.pdf Required forms for experiments can be downloaded from this web site. 3. Science Fair Projects for Dummies by Maxine Levaren Available in local bookstores. 4. www.societyforscience.org/isef/primer/index.asp Provides valuable on-line resource. (NEW)