Knock'em
dead at the fair!
All your work will be for nothing if you don't finish it off by presenting
your project as well as you can at the fair. To knock 'em dead at the
fair, two things need to happen. First, you need to create a neat display
which shows your work. Second, you need to look sharp, and be sharp
so the judges are impressed with your work.
If you
have access to Microsoft PowerPoint on a computer, you may want to use
this display template. If you use this
form, you can take it to a copy store, like KINKOS, and have your display
panels printed. Be advised that the normal charge to have large panels
printed costs between $30.00 to $50.00.
If you
would like to see Jenna building her display, you can go here.
TO
BUILD A GREAT DISPLAY:
General
Guidelines
1. Hinge 2 or 3 panels together.
2. Keep panels 30-36 inches tall.
3. Use bright colors and borders, etc to attract the judges eye. Frames
around photos and each written section.
4. In front of display board, on the table, is positioned some of your
equipment and your research paper and logs. Your experiment doesn't
need to function at the fair. Your work is done.
5. Some fairs have space limits. Check this out and be sure to stay
within those limits.
For
a 3 panel display (center panel usually largest):
1. Remember to use light weight materials. You may need to carry this
a long distance.
2. Stencils or cut letters work best and are neat.
3. Title goes across top of center section or split evenly across 2
panels.
4. Center section should contain visual images. Photos, charts, graphs,
materials list.
5. Left panel should contain purpose (top) procedure (bottom).
6. Right panel should contain results (top) conclusions (bottom).
For a 2 panel display:
1. Split the title across both panels
2. Purpose & procedure on left
3. Results & conclusion on right
These need to be smaller than on a 3 panel display so you can fit your
other visual materials (charts, graphs, etc.)
ON
THE DAY OF THE FAIR:
1. Your
appearance - clean and neat.
2. Know your information. Refer to notes as little as possible. Use
backboard to support your comments.
3. Make eye contact, shake hands, don't chew gun, don't memorize and
know subject.
4. Safety steps go a long way to show the judges that you are concerned
about this. Especially, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, goggles, gloves.
(when needed)
5. Repair kit-in moving your project, sometimes things get broken. Scotch
tape, duct tape, glue, stapler, scissors, markers, etc.
6. Judging guidelines, are usually based on these 4 areas:
1. Scientific
Method
2. Knowledge gained (this should be found in your conclusion)
3. Creativity (an unusual twist on some topic, doing it a little differently,
or with some homemade apparatus).
4. Neatness (typed clean, colorful, logical, data, photos, etc.)
7. If you
are using any creatures with a backbone in your experiment (vertebrate),
there are additional forms to fill out and extra rules to follow from
the beginning of your experiment (get these forms and rules from your
science fair coordinator).
8. Use metrics in measurements where possible. Don't use metrics if
your results will be incorrect. Scientists use metrics at all times.
9. You will need an abstract. It is: a statement of the purpose, brief
description of the procedure, and a conclusion based on your results.
Type this on one piece of paper.
10. Arrive early to set up and locate your spot (give yourself enough
time to get finished and relax before the fair starts).
11. If you need electricity, request it ahead of time and take enough
extension cord with you to reach your project.
12. A folding chair, snacks and a something to read will help pass a
lot of waiting time.
