BALMACEWEN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FAIR

No doubt you will have heard about the ‘Science Fair.’ It is a school wide event that has
been happening at Balmacewen Intermediate for a number of years now. We are always
very successful and a number of students go on to be very successful at the Otago
Science and Technology fair each year. It is a great opportunity for students to undertake
and inquiry of their own choice.

WHO: All Balmacewen Intermediate students will individually complete a science fair
project guided through the process by their classroom teacher/

WHEN: The Science and Technology fair takes place over the course of Term Two. All
students complete a project which is due into their classroom teacher for presentation in
Week 10, Monday 21st June.

From here all projects will be exhibited in the hall later that week and judged. The best
entries will be selected to represent Balmacewen at the Otago Science and Technology
fair.

WHERE: Students will carry out science investigations and learn how to put their project
together, create graphs and procedural writing techniques in class. They will get some
class time to work on their projects and the rest will be made up of homework time for
the term.

WHAT: IS A SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT?

A science fair project can be an invention, investigation or experimental research.

There has also been a change that includes aspects of ICT use as part of an
investigation – developing a new programme, animation techniques, Robotics etc.

TIMELINE GUIDELINES

 HOLIDAYS – WEEK 1: It will start with a big question, idea or aim that the
student wants to explore. For example: ‘How can I keep the fizz in my fizzy for
longer?’ ’ ‘How can I make myself safe on my skateboard coming to school in the
mornings?’

 WEEKS 1-3: Next the students will need to research and gather background
information around this big idea.

 They will use this information to make a hypothesis or (in the case of an
invention) come up with a prototype or plan.

 WEEKS 3 – 7: From here the students need to come up with a plan for how they
are going to carry out their experiment, invention or investigation. They need to
remember to use a fair test, think about what they are changing and measuring
and repeat their testing at least three times for accuracy. (This will be explained
fully at school by their classroom teacher)

 The students carry this plan out over the next few weeks and keep a log book
and take photos of the process along the way.

 WEEK 8: Next the students put together their results. They may use graphs,
tables or written observations.

 WEEK 8-10: They then summarise their results, making reference to their
hypothesis.

 They will be given details and explanations at school as to how they must present
their inquiry onto a display board. Samples of previous projects will be on display
in the library and parents are also welcome to come in and look at these for ideas.
(Pictures of these may also be on some class blog pages.) The display boards
are available from the school library for $10. The rest of the information
 goes into their log book/clear file which will be kept with the display board for the
judge’s reference.

The GUIDELINES used here are approximate and may change from class to class
depending on their classroom programme.

We will have a lot of discussion and sharing of ideas in class and there will be notices
coming home with additional information. But this gives you a basic run down to help you
get your head around it all. If you have further questions please see your child’s teacher.

Balmacewen Staff