2024

January 2024

Dear Students and Parents,

Cedar Grove Elementary is excited to be once again hosting a non-competitive Science Expo on the evening of Friday, March 22, 2024 at 6:30 PM.  The Science Expo will be open for all students in grades K-5 and will be held at Cedar Grove Elementary School, in the gym. No food or drink is allowed during the Science Expo.

Students will develop an experiment based on a testable question from any area of science. Students may work with a partner; however, both partners must turn in a separate application. If working with a partner, the applications should have the same testable question and summary. The vast majority of the work must be done at home, but we will be happy to give guidance as requested.  Parental or community assistance to students is encouraged.

The displayed experiments will be limited to a space of 48” long X 36” high.  The displays must be free standing with a backboard, which can be purchased at craft or any multipurpose stores. No materials other than a table will be available the night of the expo.  

 Guidelines for Participation:

Planning Guide  

*Adapted from Lora Holt’s Science Fair Planning Guide*  

Special Considerations 

Your project must be an experiment that goes through the inquiry process; it cannot be a model, display, or collection. An experiment that goes through the inquiry process will take you through the Scientific Method.  

Testable Question: How does the type of liquid affect how an ice-cube melts?

Non-testable Question: How do volcanoes work?  

Please be sure you are being a responsible scientist!  This means to be considerate of the environment and your subjects.  Experiments where humans or animals might be harmed will not be permitted.  

Additionally, open flames, caustic and flammable chemicals, bottled gas, or explosives of any kind are not permitted in the school building.  Animals are also not permitted in the school building. Any foods or tastings the night of the expo are not permitted.  

Parents should provide appropriate supervision of all science experiments to assure the safety and well-being of their child.  If you have any questions, please contact: Mrs. Patel (president.cedargrovepta@gmail.com) or Mrs. Lorey (vpcommunications.cedargrovepta@gmail.com).

 What is the Scientific Method?           

How do I conduct a Science Expo Project?   

Step 1: Coming up with a Good Question

You need to develop a testable question. Use the sentence starters below to help you develop your question. Remember, you should only have one question. For example:  

The “Effect” Question:

What is the effect of _________________on_____________________?

                                              sunlight                  on the growth of plants                                                               eye color                  pupil dilation                                                                        temperature         the size of a balloon

The “How Does Affect” Question:

How does the __________________affect_______________________?

                                             color of light                  the growth of plants                                                              humidity                           the growth of fungi

                                             color of a material          its absorption of heat  

The “Which/What and Verb” Question:

Which/What___________________ (verb)__________________________?

Step 2: Doing the Research  

You’ve picked a testable question and now it’s time to research your question as much as possible. As a scientist, it’s important to become an expert about your topic.  

You Read! Read about your topic. Read encyclopedias, magazine articles, books from the library, and articles from the internet (with parent supervision). Make a list of any new science words you learn, and all the sources you used. You’ll need this list for your project.  

You Discuss! Talk about it with your parents, teachers, and experts who work with the things you are studying.  

Step 3: Create a Hypothesis  

Now it’s time to predict what will happen if you test your question. This type of “smart guess” or prediction is called a hypothesis. Be sure to make this prediction BEFORE you even start your experiment. You should support your hypothesis with research you found.  

Example Question: Which paper towel is more absorbent?

Example Hypothesis: I think Brand X will be more absorbent because it’s a more popular brand; it is thicker and the people I interviewed said that the more expensive brands would work better.  

Step 4: Test your Hypothesis by Conducting the Experiment

Now we’ve come to the good part…the experiment! Designing an experiment is really cool because you get to use your imagination to come up with a test for your question, and most of all, you get to prove (or disprove) your hypothesis. Remember, that at the Science Expo you cannot perform your experiment live, so you’ll have to take plenty of pictures as you go through the experiment!

Gather your Materials: What will you need to perform your experiment? The safest way to do this is to get an adult to help you get the stuff you need. Be sure to keep a list and take a picture of all your materials for your display.  

Write a Procedure: A procedure is a list of steps that you did to perform an experiment. Again, be sure to record the steps and take a picture.  

Identify your Variables: The variables are any thing that can change in an experiment. Remember that when you are testing your experiment you should only test one variable at a time in order to get accurate results.

For example, if you want to test the effect that water has on plant growth, then all the plants you test should be in the same conditions, these are called controlled variables: same type of plant, same type of location, same amount of sunlight, etc. The only variable you would change from plant to plant would be the amount of water it received. This is called the independent or manipulated variable. The independent variable is what you are testing. The results of the tests that you do are called the dependent or responding variables. The responding variable is what happens as a result of your test. Knowing what your variables are is very important because if you don’t know them you won’t be able to collect your data or read your results.  

Test, Test, Test: You need to make sure you perform your experiment more than once in order to test it properly. We recommend five times or more. More is better! Don’t forget to take pictures of the experiment being done and the results.  

Step 5: Record Data 

This means write down or record the results of the experiment every time you test it. You also need to organize the data in a way so that it is easy to read the results. Most scientists use tables, graphs, and other organizers to show their results. Organizing makes the results easy to read and much easier to recognize patterns that might be occurring in your results.  

Step 6: Form a Conclusion - and be ready to discuss this on Expo night!

Tell us what happened! Was your hypothesis right or wrong? Were you successful, did it turn out okay? Would you change anything about the experiment or are you curious about something else now that you’ve completed your experiment? And most of all, tell us what you learned from doing your experiment! How does your experiment apply to real life and why is it important to know about your experiment?  

Step 7: Create your Display  

Here is a sample display board. Your board should have pictures from your experiment and include all your information. Be sure your display board isn’t bigger than the allowed size: 48” long X 36” high.         

RETURN BY FEB 2, 2024 - NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED

Cedar Grove Science Expo Application

Please complete this form and return to your homeroom teacher by February 2.  No late applications will be accepted. Please plan accordingly and try to turn in early!  

Please PRINT Clearly  

* If you are working with a partner, this part also needs to be completed*  Your partner must submit a separate application.

 RETURN BY FEB 2, 2024 - NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED

You must fill out this part and if you’re working with a partner, they must complete a separate application. The information should be identical if you are working with a partner.

RETURN BY FEB 2, 2024 - NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED

 Attention Parents: if you work in a field of science or have a science background and are willing to volunteer the night of the expo to be a Visiting Scientist to offer feedback to students about their experiment, please complete the following (please print).  

Name: __________________________________ Email: ____________________________________

                                                                (Pls print)

Occupation: _____________________________ Telephone: _______________________________

Parent Permission: I have read the Science Expo Application and Planning Guide and give my child permission to participate.

I understand that this is an out of school project, and the event will occur after school on Friday, March 22, 2024 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM at Cedar Grove Elementary School in the gym. No food or drink will be allowed.  

I understand that my child should not begin their project until they have received approval.  

I understand that all projects will be dropped off at school on Thursday, March 21, 2024 between 5:30 and 6:30 PM.

Child’s Name: ____________________________________  Teacher: ________________________

Parent Signature: _________________________________________ Date: ____________________

Parent Name (please print): _________________________________________________________