Northwest Puppet Theater

WOODRIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

2012 SCIENCE FAIR

FRIDAY, MARCH 2nd 2012 6:30 - 8:00 PM

Project entry forms due in the office by February 9, 2012 Science Fair Chairs: Tracy Mahoney, [email protected], (425) 454-8128 and Kristen Lane, [email protected], (425) 466-4759 Woodridge Elementary School 2012 Science Fair

The Science Fair is for all Woodridge students and families to try a science experiment, explore, learn, share your discoveries, and have fun. It is a time to pose questions, seek out answers, and satisfy your curiosity about the world around you. The 2009 Science Fair will be on FRIDAY, MARCH 2nd, 2012 from 6:30-8:00pm.

 Your work may be a presentation of an experiment, a demonstration, a collection of scientific items, or a display of a scientific apparatus.  All students are encouraged to participate; fifth grade students are required to participate.  K-4 students may work alone or with other Woodridge students; fifth grade students must work independently.  All students who enter a project in the Science Fair will receive a ribbon.  Science Fair projects will not be judged.

IMPORTANT DATES Due January 19 Order your display board from your teacher Due February 9 Entry form deadline March 2 2:00-4:00 pm: set up your project in the multipurpose room 6:30-8:00 pm: Science Fair at school 8:00 pm (at the latest): take your project home

YOUR SCIENCE PROJECT Science is for everyone! You can do an awesome science experiment, learn about the world around you, and share your hard work with your friends, classmates, teachers, and families. Here are some steps you can follow:

 Brainstorm ideas for your project. Are you interested in animals, weather, electricity, or plants? Go to the school library or public library and look at books about science experiments. Look at Mrs. Peterson’s library website for links to science fair projects www.bsd405.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1561. Search the internet for “elementary school science fair projects.” Talk to your teachers and parents about what would be interesting. Be sure to have fun doing your science project, but remember that your project may not hurt anyone or any animals.  Learn about the Scientific Method. Follow the worksheet in this booklet to state the problem, do some research, write your hypothesis or prediction, and plan your experiment.  Gather the materials you will need for your experiment. Many experiments use ordinary materials that you can find at home. You don’t need to spend any money or buy a special kit.  Conduct your experiment and carefully record the results. Write down your conclusion.  Create a display board to show others what you did.  Attend the Science Fair! Show off your hard work, learn from everyone else’s projects, and receive a ribbon for participating! MORE ABOUT YOUR PROJECT DISPLAY You will need a freestanding, three-sided backboard for your project like the one shown here. You may buy a display board from your teacher for $3.50 in late January or you can find them at office supply stores and department stores like Target. You may also make your own from sturdy cardboard, plywood, particleboard, or foam core board (don’t use poster board which is too flimsy and won’t stand up).

Project displays should be no larger than 48 inches wide and 36 inches tall (so they fit on the tables in the cafeteria). Make your display neat, eye- catching, and easy to read.

Your display MUST have:

 The TITLE of your project in large letters at the top of the display.  YOUR NAME and GRADE below the title.

The objects in front of the display board can be the materials you used in your experiment, a sample of your result, or a model for people to try out. You may not include explosives, toxic chemicals, liquids that might spill, or anything valuable. You may request a “Do Not Touch” sign, but displays are not supervised. We cannot guarantee the safety of your display—items may become lost or broken so please choose items for your display carefully. Your display board and the items in front of it should explain your project well enough that you do not need to be present for someone to understand it. Please take your project home at the end of the Science Fair.

IDEAS FOR SCIENCE FAIR PROJECTS

 Do different colors of light affect  What causes the phases of the plants differently? moon?  Is our heartbeat affected by music?  What materials block radio waves  How do eyeglasses work? the best?  How does salt affect when water  Can quarters and feathers fall at the freezes or boils? same speed?  Do detergents in the water affect  Does wind increase the rate of plant growth? evaporation?  Does the temperature at which you  What fabrics make good insulators? store popcorn affect how many  Who has faster reflexes, boys or kernels pop? girls, adults or children?  What type of bridge holds the most  Does the temperature of a magnet weight? affect its magnetic field lines?  Will plants grow upside down?  How do fossils form? Science Fair Project Worksheet For Kindergarten through 2nd Grade

Use this simplified worksheet to help younger students plan a project:

1. What I wanted to know 2. What I did 3. What I found out

Science Fair Project Worksheet For 3rd through 5th Grades

Use the Scientific Method contained in this worksheet to design your project.

1. State the PROBLEM: What did you want to find out? What is your experiment going to test or explain? Example: How does polluted water affect how tall a plant grows? 2. RESEARCH: What can you find out about water pollution? 3. State your PREDICTION: This is an educated guess that you make before you do your experiment. What do you think will happen? Example: The more polluted the water is, the smaller the plant will grow. 4. EXPERIMENT: Make up an experiment to test your prediction. Describe what you use (the materials) and how you do it (the method). Try to change only the thing you are testing (for example, the amount of detergent in the water) and keep everything else the same (for example, the kind of plant, the amount of water and light it gets, the temperature, and the soil). Example:

Materials: 9 young tomato plants, all about the same size centimeter ruler Tide laundry detergent measuring cups and spoons 3 jars with lids a sunny window ledge

Procedure: 1. Divide the tomato plants into three groups: one that will get very polluted water, one that will get water that is a little polluted, and one that will get clean water. Label them. Measure the starting heights of the plants. 2. Fill three jars with 4 cups of clean water in each. In the first jar, add one cup of Tide. In the second jar, add one tablespoon of Tide. In the third jar, don’t add anything. 3. Put the lids on the jars, swirl them to mix, and label them. 4. Put the plants on the same sunny window ledge. 5. Water the first group of plants with one tablespoon of water from the very polluted first jar; water the second group of plants with one tablespoon of water from the second jar; water the third group of plants with one tablespoon of clean water from the third jar. 6. Water the plants every other day, each with its special water. 7. Measure the plants every day for three weeks. Record the heights. 5. RESULTS: What happened? Write down your observations at each step. You can use photographs, drawings, or charts; graph your results; or use words to describe what you saw.

Example: Height of tomato plants in centimeters

very polluted little polluted water clean water water Day 1 12 14 12 12 11 13 13 13 14 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 RECORD MEASUREMENTS HERE Day 5 (up to Day 30)

6. CONCLUSIONS: Was your prediction correct? Why did you get the results you did? Use your research to help explain the results. Example: At the end of three weeks, were the tomato plants that were given polluted water shorter than the tomato plants that received clean water?

NOTE TO PARENTS The Science Fair is intended to be an enriching experience for Woodridge students and their families. Although the project should be the student’s own work, parents, grandparents, mentors, etc. are welcome to assist the student as appropriate. Please exercise good judgment and remember that your child will benefit much more from “owning” his/her project than from exhibiting a nifty display that someone else built.

Please help your child choose a project that he/she fully understands. The school library will have a special Science Fair section with books of simple experiments as well as links on the library website www.bsd405.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1561 to Science Fair ideas. You may also wish to visit the public library or help your child search the internet. You may help your child brainstorm ideas, choose a topic, understand the Scientific Method, and gather materials. Parents of K-4th graders may also help construct the display and may write/type information for the display, but the information should be in the student’s own words. Fifth grade students are graded on their work and should be able to do most of the work themselves, but parents can be especially helpful in helping students organize their presentation on the display board.

The Science Fair is an exciting time. The students are so proud of their work! Please come to the Science Fair, demonstrate your own curiosity for all of the projects, offer your praise and compliments, and take your child’s project home by 8:00 pm.

Finally, do you have a science-related career? We invite you to share your career in an individual display during the Science Fair. It’s a wonderful opportunity to show students that science is a part of everyday life.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask the Science Fair Chairs: Tracy Mahoney at [email protected] or (425) 454-8128; and Kristen Lane at [email protected] or (425) 466-4759. 2012 SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT ENTRY FORM Due in the school office by THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Student Name______Teacher Name______

My Science Fair Project idea is: (Write a brief description or title of your project)

Please check all that apply:

o I will need an electrical outlet o I will need a “DO NOT TOUCH” sign o I will need a “PLEASE TOUCH GENTLY” sign o I will need something else, which is ______

Parent or Adult signature ______(required)

------Adults (& responsible high school students): Please check below if you can help! o Prior to the fair, for a variety of jobs o During set up at the end of school on March 2, 2012 (2:00-4:00 pm) o During the fair, for some hands-on activities (Gak!) o After the fair, to help clean up

Best way to reach me: phone/email at ______

Name (please print) ______

Science Fair Chairs: Tracy Mahoney, [email protected], (425) 454-8128 and Kristen Lane, [email protected], (425) 466-4759 Ox