How and Why Things Work:

Discovering the Scientific Principles

Behind Everyday Things

Loudonville School Science Fair Booklet

What exactly is the Loudonville Science Fair?

The science fair is an event where you and the other students can share your
science projects. The Science Fair is held one evening, February 5th, and is open to
all members of the Loudonville Community. The young scientists also display
their projects to fellow students during the following school day. You can solve
problems, make discoveries, report on a scientist’s life, or do an experiment.

How can this booklet help me get ready for the Science Fair?

The Science Fair Booklet is designed to help you find an idea, do the project, and
show your results.

How do I get started?

The first step on your science fair adventure is choosing a project that works for
you.

→ What kind of science interests you?

→ What do you want to learn about?
→ What special hobbies or talents do you have that you could use in a project?
→ Do you want to work by yourself or with a friend?

On the next page, we list different types of science projects that might work for
you. At the back of this booklet we have included a list of possible ideas. We
have also included a list of books and web resources that you can use to get your
project started.

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 What Type Of Project Should I Do?
There are many different types of science projects. Below are four types of
possible projects you could do.

1) A Descriptive or Demonstration Project. Describe what something is like

or show us how it works. Students might tell how a bike is constructed, or
demonstrate how the gears work.

2) Comparisons. These projects will follow the same basic steps as the
descriptive or demonstration projects, but will push it one step further and
compares two or more things. Explorations might consider how the gears of a bike
differ from the gears of a unicycle, for example.

3) Experiments. These projects will attempt to answer questions about “what

happens when,” and to test students’ guesses about how and why things work. The
goal of the experiment is to generate a testable hypothesis - a guess that one can
then challenge to see if there are instances when it is true or false. For example,
students might make guesses about how well different laundry detergents work to
remove chocolate stains– (for example, Tide works better than All) – then test to
see if these guesses seem correct. It’s okay if your hypothesis is wrong; we still
learn a lot! Finally, students try to explain what they found.

4) Present A Biography of a Scientist. We want to learn about the stories of

scientists that students find interesting. Students can tells us about a scientist or
inventor and what they discovered or created; what they were like growing up;
how their discoveries or inventions came about; how the discovery or invention
changed the way people thought or acted; and timelines that show major events in
the scientist’s life. There are over 100 scientists listed at the end of the booklet.

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 What’s Next?
Once you have decided on the type of project and idea that you want to do, you
should complete the Science Fair Proposal Form on the next page.

The form asks you to tell us your name, grade, and teacher. It also asks you to
circle the type of project you think you will do and to tell us a little bit about your
idea for a science project. Try to be as specific as possible. You might tell us
about…..

→ What you decided to study.

→ What you hope to learn or find out.
→ How you are going to find these things out.
∀ Will you use books and the Internet?
∀ Are you going to take pictures or keep a journal?
∀ Are you going to build a model?
∀ Will you visit a museum?
∀ Will you do an experiment?
∀ What will your experiment involve?
∀ Will you do your project alone or with a friend?

Please fill out the form either on line or hand in to the school by the date indicated.
The proposal form lets the Science Fair Committee know how many students are
doing projects and the types of Science happening in our school.

Soon after you hand the Proposal Form in, Science Fair mentors will read your
form and fill out a “review sheet.” The review sheet might include some additional
suggestions that you can use in your project. It also lists some safety rules that we
need students to follow.

BE ORIGINAL! BE CREATIVE!!

BE SAFE! HAVE FUN!

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 How and Why Things Work:
Discovering the Scientific Principles
Behind Everyday Things

Loudonville School Science Fair Proposal Form

Proposal forms are due by December 21, 2009

Student Name(s): ____________________________________________________

Contact Person: _______________________________________________

E-mail: ______________________________ Phone: __________________

Teacher(s)/Grade(s): __________________________________________

Project Title: _________________________________________________

Parent Signature:______________________________________________

Project type (circle one): description demonstration comparison

experiment biography

Try to list or describe the steps you will take to complete this project.

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 Return this form to the school office by December 21, 2009 to the attention of
Lynn Woodhouse, Science Fair Committee

Hands Off…
So far we have talked about all of the different projects that you can do for the
Loudonville Science Fair. As we want everyone to have fun AND Be Safe, there
are also some rules that you need to know about.

The following items are NOT allowed at our science fair:

X dangerous chemicals
X breakable objects
X hypodermic needles
X drugs
X body parts (except for teeth, hair, nails, or animal bones)
X materials that explode or can catch fire
X live animals (including fish)
X sharp objects
X open containers of water or any other liquid
X dry ice
X any food items
Also note that projects should NOT require the use of an electrical outlet.

The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; she or he studies it because
he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful.
– Henri Poincare -

Physics is puzzle solving, too, but of puzzles created by nature,

not by the mind of man.
- Maria Goeppert Mayer -

5
 Doing The Project

Once you have submitted your proposal, it is time to get to work! The next few
pages describe how you might go about completing your study. Not everything
will apply to your project, especially if you choose to do a demonstration or
descriptive study. Just skip over the instructions that don’t seem to fit your project.

We recommend that you start by counting the days until the Science Fair and work
out a plan for completing your project.

The next step is to turn your idea into a research question. For example, if you are
interested in studying laundry detergents, your question might be “what
laundry detergent does the best job getting the grass stains out of your
pants?” An example of a descriptive question might by, “what is laundry
detergent made of?”

After you determine your question, you can them make a guess or hypothesis about
what you think will happen. Your guess should be simple enough to test…
“I think Tide is the best the detergent to remove grass stains.”

Next, spring into action….How do scientists investigate a question?

Sometimes scientists make discoveries by accident. Other times, they carefully
develop a plan to test a guess or hypothesis about how something works.

If you are doing a descriptive study or demonstration, you can still make guesses
about how something works, an animal lives, or seasons change, even though you
won’t test them using an experiment. Think about what questions you would like
to answer about your subject.
To test the guesses and ideas, scientists often conduct experiments and use the
results or data to begin answering their questions. As part of your plan, you should
describe what you plan to do during your experiment. List all the materials you
will need. If you are doing a descriptive study or demonstration, list the resources
you will use. Will you create or collect pictures, or make a diagram or model?
Next, write down everything you will do. Other scientists should be able to repeat
your experiment by reading your procedures. You can use the “Tracking Your
Progress” form if you find it helpful. As you perform the steps, you need to keep
track of your observations – what you see. These are the data. You should report
only what you actually see. You may want to organize your data into a table
format.
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 Doing The Project (continued)
If you are doing a descriptive project, you can see if the information you read
agrees with your guess. Do you find any of the information surprising?

As you move along through your project, collect, look at, and read some
background materials to learn about what people already think or know.
After thinking a lot about the data and the information you have read, you need to
make a conclusion about what you learned:
→ How does what you learned relate to the world in which you live?
→ What you would do differently next time?
→ What unanswered questions remain?
Many times the data and the conclusion often lead to another question and another
experiment. The scientific method often goes round and round.

5 Tips For Success

1. Perform your test more than once to be sure your results are accurate.

2. Be precise in taking and recording measurements and results.

3. Be sure you don’t gather only those results that say your hypothesis is correct.

4. Finding the real answer is more important than proving your hypothesis is true.
Scientists often learn as much from failed experiments as perfect ones!

5. Make your project safe!

7
 The Display

The purpose of the display is to give a “project summary” at a glance. It is the first
part of your science project that people will notice, so make it stand out. The
display is made of tall boards, sturdy enough to stand on its own for several days.
Your board must be no larger than 4 feet (trifold) wide by 3 feet high. Many
stationery supply stores carry lightweight, three-sectioned board.

Make your display interesting. You can use snappy visual effects and colors. But
be careful not to make your display so busy that people look only at it and not at
your work!

Your display must include the following things, each typed or lettered neatly on
separate paper to be attached to the display:

1. A descriptive title of ten words or less. The lettering should be easy to read and
your title should be clear from a distance.

2. Your name and class.

3. The purpose of your project. This is a statement of the question which you
were trying to answer. It should be in question form.

4. Your hypothesis. This is your educated guess about the answer to the question.

5. A short summary of your procedures. This is a step by step account of what

you did. It should include the materials and methods used to reach your
conclusion.

6. A short summary of your data and results in the form of tables, charts,
pictures, graphs, etc. Scientists often combine science and math!

7. A short summary of your analysis. How your data supports, or does not
support, your hypothesis. Use the notes in your log book for this.

8. A short summary of your conclusions. A summary of what you learned,

including an answer to your original question.

9. A list of your resources.

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Use your space wisely. Fill the display board, but don’t crowd things. Your
presentation will be more spectacular if you use graphs, photographs, charts,
drawings, diagrams, or samples. Triple-check your spelling and grammar, and
remember that neatness counts. Be prepared to discuss your project with others.

NOTE: Photos and drawings are encouraged on the poster board. The use of props
will be permitted if they are smaller than 12” x 20”. Glass objects and food are not
permitted in the exhibit at school.

Your project will be on display all evening and for one complete school day.
Please be sure all items are securely attached to your poster board. Please be
aware that other students may handle your exhibit. If you’re worried that
something may be broken, do not use it in your exhibit but display photos or
drawings of it.

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 Tracking Your Progress (optional)
If you want, you can use the sheet below to help track your progress.

Title: ____________________________________________________________

Materials: ________________________________________________________

What I did:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Date What I changed What I Observed

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

What I learned:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

What I Think, Unanswered Questions, and Things I Would Do Differently:

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

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 Your Research Resource
While creating your science project and doing your research, be sure to keep track
of the books, web-links, and videos, and magazines that you used to help
complete your science project. You should post this list or “bibliography”
somewhere on your science fair poster or display.

You can find helpful materials at bookstores, libraries, museums, hospitals, and
websites. On the following pages, we listed book sources and websites that
may be useful.

A Permanent Record
Loudonville School would like to have a permanent record of all the projects in the
Science Fair. Please use the form on the next page, or bring in a piece of paper
with the following information:

→ Your name and grade.

→ The title of your project.
→ A short (3-5) sentence explanation of your project and what you
learned.

Loosely tape the form or paper to the back of your project. (Please don’t glue it!)
It will be collected on the evening of the Science Fair. Information about your
project will be bound along with photos of each display. This information is
kept in the library.

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 How and Why Things Work:
Discovering the Scientific Principles
Behind Everyday Things

Loudonville School Science Fair 2010

Name(s):__________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Grade(s): ___________ Teacher(s): ____________________________

Project Title: ______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

What did you learn doing this project?

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

*Please fill out this form and attach it to the back of your Science Fair display
board. It will be collected at the Science Fair.

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 Book Sources
Loudonville School Library
Mrs. Stokes has about 500 books in the 500-575 section of the library.
Some good books to start with include,
Mr. Wizard’s Supermarket Science, Don Herbet, 1980 507H
The Kid’s Sciencebook, Robert Hirschfeld and Nancy White, 1995, 507.9H
Books by Vicki Cobb about everyday science.

William K. Sanford Library

More than 500 books on science in the children’s section.
Call numbers J500-J574.
Check out…
Janice Vancleave’s Molecules!, 1993, J540.78V
Awesome Experiments with Electricity and Magnetism, Michael S. Spezio, 1998,
J537.075DIS

The Little Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza

Home to thousands of kid’s titles and an enthusiastic staff.

At Borders, Barnes and Noble, orAmazon.Com, check out….

1001 Ideas for Science Projects, Marion Brisk, 1999

100 First-prize Make it Yourself Science Projects, Glen Veccione, 1998.

175 Science Experiments to Amuse & Amaze your Friends, Brenda Walpole, 1988

The Complete Science Fair Handbook: For Teachers and Parents of Students in
Grades 4-8, Anthony Fredericks and Isaac Asimov, 1991

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 Internet Resources

General Hints and Ideas for Science Projects:

http://www.education.com/topic/great-science-fair-project-ideas

http://www.scienceproject.com/projects/index/elementary.asp

http://sciencefairproject.virtualave.net

http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/steps.html

http://www.juliantrubin.com/environmentprojects.html

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml

Projects:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/snackintro.html

http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/ - Howard Hughes Medical Institute

http://www.madsci.org/experiments - Mad Science link

http://www.funsci.com - Fun with Science

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com

http://www.mcrel.org/whelmers - gives instructions for actual projects

http://www.doscience.com/act_archive/index.html

http://school.discovery.com - see link to science fair central

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 Helping Your Children with Their
Science Fair Project
Share a story or an example of a science project you did.

Help your child pick a project that is doable and not too frustrating.

Give encouragement, support and guidance. Be positive.

Make sure your child feels it is his or her own project. Science is a process as
much as a product; focus on helping your child rather than doing the project for
your child.

Make safety a priority.

Help child in understanding and using the major research skills, such as:

Locating resources Collecting Demonstrating

Organizing materials Constructing Presenting
Recording findings Reporting findings

Develop a schedule or plan for doing the project and finishing on time.

Help your child proofread his or her work.

Make gentle suggestions about alternative approaches or corrections.

Let your child display his or her project to you before showing it at school.

Avoid the last minute rush!

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 Possible Ideas To Get You Started
Demonstrations and Things you Can Make:
A model of a volcano
A magnet
A bat or bird house
Animal habitats A tundra
A sundial Compass
Salt crystals Sugar Crystals
A model of the solar system Show the parts of a flower
Show the parts of an ear or eye Make a miniature greenhouse
Make a simple electrical circuit Build a small electric motor
A model of a cross section of the earth

Descriptive Projects:
Describe and display an insect collection
Describe how you know how old a tree is
Display a seed, rock or wood collection
Describe how a tooth decays? – pictures would be great
A day in the life of a bee, butterfly, grasshopper, ant, or other insect.
A day in the life of a rat, mouse, hamster, gerbil, or other rodent
A day in the life of a woodchuck, beaver, moose, or other animal
A day in the life of a crab, lobster, or other crustacean
What is cotton candy?
Describe the history of shells
How are ocean depths measured?
How are distances measured in outer space?
How does a traffic signal work?
Report on the plant and animal life around the schoolyard
Report on the plant and animal life in your backyard
Report on what grows in the winter
Describe what animals, plants, or insects grow in trees
How are video games created
How are earthquakes measured?

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 More Ideas To Get You Started
More Descriptive Projects:
How is snow made and the parts of a snowflake.
How does a doorbell work?
Was moss really used as a diaper?
How does a telegraph work?
Describe the causes of the seasons
How do canals and locks work? – Lots of local examples!
What causes erosion?
Why are earthworms important to the soil?
Why does a submarine float?
What causes air pollution?

Comparison Project:
How do the insides of different fruits differ?
How are different kinds of tree leaves the same or different?
Compare different insects – which are the good guys, which are the bad guys?
Which is lighter, hot or cold air?
Compare packaging for an egg
Report on the differences between tornadoes, hurricanes, and other storms
Compare different simple machines
Compare the hardness of different types of rocks and minerals
What is the best wing shape for an airplane?
Calculate and record length of days and nights over two weeks? Why does the day
length change?
Is the air temperature in house the same at floor level as near the ceiling?
Keep track of the temperature outside – when is it the coldest, when is it the
hottest?
How accurate are the television weather forecasters at predicting the next day’s
weather? Is one channel or station better than another?

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 Other Ideas To Get You Started
Possible Experiments:
Do plants grow toward light?
Do detergents work best in cold or hot water?
What causes milk to spoil?
Which freezes faster – plain water, distilled water, salt water or sugar
water?
How does temperature effect plant growth?
What is the effect of salt or sugar water on plant growth?
What is the effect of vinegar on plant growth?
Compare which battery lasts the longest
Compare different dish detergents or bubble bath – which one makes
more bubbles?
Use a homemade weather machine to measure rainfall or snowfall.
Explore the uses of the fulcrum and lever
What types of objects does a magnet attract and repel?
What are the effects of air pollution on a plant?
Which popcorn brand pops the fastest or the most?
What paper airplane design flies the farthest? Straightest?
How does light make a prism?
What makes static electricity?
What can cause a ball to stop rolling after being set in motion?
What factors affect the speed of a Pinewood Derby car?

Biographies of Scientists:
The remaining pages list the names of scientists that you may want to
make the focus of your science project. Some lived a long time ago and
some are still living. The list includes men and women from a number
of different countries, races, and backgrounds. Some never went to
college and others received their Ph.D.s or are doctors. Several received
the Nobel Prize for their contributions to science. This list is intended as
a starting point. If you know of another scientist that you want to study,
let us know about that person too.

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 Some Scientists Worthy of Study
1. Buzz Aldrin - astronaut 37. John Dalton
2. Armedeo Avogadro 38.Charles Darwin-
biologist
3. Andre-Marie Ampere 39. Leonardo DaVinci - inventor
4. Archimedes 40. Charles Drew
5. Aristotle 41. Annie Easley
6. Neil Armstrong – astronaut 42. Thomas Edison - inventor
7. John Audubon - environmentalist 43. Albert Einstein - physicist
8. Charles Babbage 44. Gertrude Elion -
pharmacologist
9. Leo Baekleland – chemist 45. Euclid
10. Benjamin Banneker 46. Michael Faraday -
physicist
11. Edward Emerson Barnard 47. Philo Farnsworth -
inventor
12. Alexander Bell – inventor 48. Enrico Fermi - physicist
13. Tim Berners-Lee - computer science49. Carlos Finlay
14. Henry Bessemer - inventor 50. Alexander Fleming -
chemist
15. Charles Herbert Best 51. Henry Ford - inventor
16. Elizabeth Blackwell 52. Dian Fossey -
biologist
17. Blaise Pascal 53. Ben Franklin - inventor
18. Niels Bohr – physicist 54. Galileo - astronomer
19. Otis Boykin 55. Yuri Gargarin -
cosmonaut
20. Robert Boyle 56. Bill Gates - computer
science
21. James Bradley 57. John Glenn
22. Tycho Brahe 58. Winifred Goldring –
geologist
23. Luther Burbank 59. Robert Goddard – physics
24. Wallace Carothers 60. Kurt Godel
25. France Anne Cordova – astrophysicist 61. Jane Goodall
26. Rachel Carson - environmentalist 62. Stephen J. Gould -
paleontologist
27. George Washington Carver 63. Elisha Gray
28. Anders Celsius 64. Edmund Halley - astronomer
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29. Noam Chomsky 65. William Harvey - medicine
30. Eugenie Clark 66. Steven Hawking -
astronomer
31. Nicolaus Copernicus - astronomer 67. David Henrik
32. Henry Cort 68. Frederick William
Herschel
33. Jacques Costeau 69. Gustav Ludwig Hertz
34. Francis Crick 70. Hippocrates – medicine
35.Marie Curie – chemist 71. Grace Murray Hopper-
computers
36.John Dalton 72. Robert Hooke

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 More Scientists
73. Edwin Hubble – astronomer
74. Mae Jemison – Astronaut
75. Edward Jenner
76. Steve Jobs
77. James Joule
78. Ernest Everett Just
79. Lord William Thomas Kelvin
80. Johann Kepler
81. Edwin Land – inventor
82. Louis Semour Bazett Leakey
83. Henrietta Swan Leavitt
84. Lewis Latimer - inventor
85 Carolus Linnaeus
86. Ada Byron Lovelace
87. Charles Lyell
88. Ernst Mach
89. Guglielmo Marconi -inventor
90. Maria Goeppert Mayer – physicist
91. Margaret Mead - anthropologist
92. Barbara McClintck - geneticist
93. Gregor Mendel
94. Dmitriy Mendeleev
95. César Milstein
96. Garrett Morgan
97. Samuel Morse - inventor
98. Sir Isaac Newton - physicist
99. Robert Noyce – physicist
100. Ellen Ochoa
101. Severo Ochoa
102. George Simon Ohm – physicist
103. Robert J. Oppenheimer
104. Elkin Patarroyo
105. Louis Pasteur – chemist
106. Linus Pauling
107. August Piccard
108. Max Planck - physicist
109. Joseph Priestly
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110. Ptolemy
111. Santiago Ramón y Cajal
112. Sally Ride - astronaut
113. Ernest Rutherford
114. Carl Sagan - astronomer
115 Jonas Salk – biochemist
116. Erwin Schrodinger
117. Earl D. Shaw – Laser technology
118. Alan Shephard - astronaut
119. William Shockley
120. Eugene Shoemaker
121. Percy Spencer
122. George Stephenson
123. Nikola Tesla
124. J.J. Thompson
125. Alan Turing - computer science
126. Anton Van Leeuwenhoek
127. John Von Newman - computers
128. Allesandro Volta
129. Sarah Breedlove Walker
130. James Watson
131. James Watt - inventor
132. Eli Whitney - inventor
133. Daniel Hale Williams
134. Ian Wilmut - biologist
135. Chien-Shiung Wu - physicist
136. Roger Arliner Young