SCIENCE FAIR RESEARCH PROJECT DISPLAY FORMAT
IMPORTANT: YOUR DISPLAY MUST BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN YOUR PROJECT ON ITS OWN WITHOUT YOU BEING PRESENT. ALTHOUGH YOU WILL BE PRESENT FOR SOME OF THE JUDGING, THE DISPLAY MUST BE SELF-EXPLANATORY AS SOME OF THE JUDGING WILL TAKE PLACE WHEN YOU ARE NOT
PRESENT. I. TITLE
Your title must tell what the project is about. Strive to keep the title short and to the point. Key words in the title may be stressed in some way to focus the project's content.
II. INTRODUCTION
Your introduction consists of a few paragraphs of information that gives general information about the topic in which the student has chosen to do research. This information should be focused toward the project's topic as much as possible, using simple and non-technical terminology. Rationale for conducting the research should be included.
III. PURPOSE
Your purpose is a simple, clear statement defining the reason for doing the research. It is best to limit this to one concise, short, sentence.
IV. HYPOTHESIS
The hypothesis of your project is a paragraph which contains a "guess" or “guesses” as to what the results of the experiment will be. This may or may not contain explanations for these guesses.
V. PROCEDURE
Your procedure is one of the most important sections of the project. If the explanation in the procedure is clearly written, anyone should be able to take your directions given in the
procedure and duplicate the experiment exactly. Think of this section as you giving someone a recipe. Details are very important so that all aspects of how the experiment was done are clearly understood. Use photographs with labels to help explain your procedure. State the experimental variable used in each experiment. Clearly state the number of specimens or subjects in each experimental group and the number of specimens or subject in the control group. Also give an explanation of the labeling system used in identifying each specimen or subject in the control and experimental groups.
VI. DATA
The data recorded from the experiment are recorded in this section. It consists of two parts. Data Table
This is a table containing data obtained from the experiment. It must be in table format. Use MS Excel to develop the data tables. Be sure to label columns and rows with quantity and units. Use metric units when reporting all data.
Data Graphs
The graph section contains graphs of the data presented in the "Data Table" section. Use the data tables developed with MS Excel to make your graphs. More than one type of graph may be used. Be sure to graph the dependent variable on the x-axis and the independent variable on the y-axis. Also control, individual experimental groups, and group average graphs may be presented.
VII. RESULTS
The result section is a discussion of the data in the table and graphs. The discussion should include statements about the trends and anomalies (deviations or departures from the rest of the results) found in the data. Explanations concerning anomalies should be included. Minimum, maximum, and averages must be stated.
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
The conclusion section is a series of statements generalizing trends found in all the data from the experimental and control groups. It must contain a discussion of the relationship between the hypothesis and the results of the experiment. This discussion should include whether or not the data supports or does not support the hypothesis.
IX. SUGGESTIONS
The suggestion section consists of comments, which provide ideas as to how to improve the experiment. These statements could include ways to decrease preparation time, ways to increase accuracy or precision, or how the experiment might be expanded.
X. APPLICATIONS
The applications section gives ideas as to what areas of science or society could benefit from the results of this research. These areas could include consumers as well as the many disciplines of science and applied science and technology.
XI. ABSTRACT
The abstract is a typed one-page document describing the entire research project. It is a summary of the project. It should include the important points of the project and is limited to a maximum of 250 words. Words in project title and student name are not included in the 250 words. An abstract should include (a) project title; (b) first and last name of student; (c) purpose of the experiment; (d) procedures used; (e) data and (f) conclusion. Only minimal reference to previous work that is related to project topic might be included. An abstract should not include (a) acknowledgments, or (b) work procedures done by mentors.
ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS:
Students may include literary research reports on other experiments or general information related to their experiment. These should be on the table with the project.
IMPORTANT NOTES
The project must include an experiment that produces quantitative data (measured in numbers). Only one person may work on a project.
Use third person in all written materials, not first or second.
Do not use contracts (can’t, shouldn’t, etc.). This is a formal writing.
A projects dimensions cannot exceed 30 inches front to back, 48 inches from side to side, and 108 inches from the floor to the top of the project.
All of the project (including any equipment) must fit inside these dimensions. If your project will be placed on a table for display, use a table height of 34 inches when calculating your total project display board height. A project displayed on a table of 34 inches high can not exceed 74 inches in height and still meet the 108 inch maximum height requirement (108 - 34 = 74).
Do not use brand names of products on display board. Use letters or a number code to represent a specimen from a brand name product. You may use a table in a notebook to show which specimen belongs to which brand, but do not place this on the display board.
You are not allowed to bring animals, bacteria, chemicals, liquids, or plants to display at the science fair.
FAIR DATES AND INFO
WCV LSF - Friday, February 29th - West Central Valley H.S. science fair in Stuart gym. Top projects advance to WIISEF, SCISEF, AND SSTFI.
WIISEF - Saturday, March 1st - Western Iowa Invitational Science and Engineering Fair in Stuart gym. Students exhibiting in this fair from our school may advance to SCISEF and SSTFI. Students who are finalists from our local fairs in grades 6 through 12 may participate.
SCISEF - Saturday, March 15th - South Central Iowa Science and Engineering Fair at Simpson College, Indianola, IA. Students who are finalists from our local fairs in grades 7 through 12 may participate.
SSTFI - Friday and Saturday, March 28th and 29th - State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa at Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State University, Ames, Ia. Students who are finalists from our local fairs in grades 6 through 12may participate.
Science Fair Board Display
Example Layout
Remember: While an part of the display may take up as much of the display board as you want, the order of the parts must remain in the same sequence, namely, (1. title, (2. introduction, (3. purpose, (4. hypothesis, (5. procedure, (6. data (tables & graphs), (7. results, (8. conclusion, (9. suggestions, (10. applications.
Introduction Problem, Question, or Purpose Hypothesis or Guess Procedure Data Tables Graphs Results Conclusions Suggestions Applications
Title
Maximum width 48”Maximum depth 30” Maximum height 9 feet from floor to highest part of project
