Steck Science Fair/STEM Night
Register to participate.
All young scientists wishing to display a project at the fair must register in advance through this online form. We strongly encourage early registration in order to reserve your space. Final registration deadline is March 13.
Projects should be student driven.
Project ideas should come from the students, and the project should be driven by them. Parents should use their best judgment in deciding when to get involved, such as when there is a potential safety issue. For especially young kids, parents may provide some guidance, but it is important that the kids be able to call the project their own.
Working with someone else.
You may work on your project independently, or you may optionally work with a partner who is also a student at Steck Elementary School, for example, a classmate or a sibling. You can also do a group project involving up to four Steck students!
Need help choosing a topic?
When it comes to choosing a topic, the sky is the limit! What have you wondered about? The best topics come from your own genuine curiosity about how something works, or why something is the way that it is. But if you have trouble thinking of something on your own, the internet is full of resources to help you choose a topic.
Judging and awards.
Our science fair is non-competitive, as our goal is simply to encourage scientific exploration and discovery and promote a deep lifelong passion for science. Each participant will have an opportunity to briefly present their project to a judge, and they will each receive a ribbon.
Exhibit Guidelines
At the science fair, you will be allocated space at a table on which to place your exhibit. To make the science fair a safe and fun experience for the families that will be attending the fair, please follow these guidelines in creating an exhibit to bring to the fair:
• Include your project title, name, and class on a tri-fold display board. (See example below)
• Your display must fit within the allocated space of 36 inches wide and 15 inches deep. The display must be self-supporting.
• In addition to the display board, other materials such as papers and dioramas may be included.
• No electric power will be available at the fair.
• Demos performed at the fair need to be set up in a way that is safe and non-damaging.
• Items brought to the fair must fall within school safety guidelines.
• Any project that may have spills should be placed on a tray or other item to contain any spill.
Presentation
Students should be prepared to briefly discuss their project with visitors and answer questions about it. Formal presentations are fine but not expected. You will only have a few minutes with the judges. For students in 4th and 5th grades, the judges will be offering additional feedback on their projects with a view toward helping the students prepare for the competitive middle school science fairs. Here are some things the judges may ask you (where applicable):
• What is the title of your project?
• Tell me about your project.
• What did you think would happen?
• Did you repeat the experiment?
• What was your control?
• What is your conclusion?
All student participants must be present at their exhibit until the exhibit has been judged.
Safety Guidelines
Before starting your science project, take some time to think about possible safety issues associated with your project. Projects should be the work of individual students and be monitored by a parent. In addition, many experiments have safety risks which must be identified and addressed by parents before the experiment.
Please follow these safety guidelines in picking your project:
• Parents are responsible for insuring that proper safeguards are in place for any hazardous chemicals, electrical or mechanical equipment, open flames, cultures, or other hazards that may exist.
• Parents must supervise their students at all times during the fair.
Volunteers needed!
A big event like the science fair wouldn't be possible without the help of numerous volunteers. We have all kinds of different jobs to be done, so if you think you can spare an hour or two on the day of the fair, we would love your help. Please sign up here or contact our science fair coordinator.
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