What does it take to be in 1st place in the South Carolina District and Regional Science Fair?

My scienca project is about the altitude of the Sun. I won 1st place in my school science fair. My science fair project is about the altitude of the Sun. I won 1st place in my school science fair.

Public Comments

1. Keep up the good work and never stop your research. 1. You are interested in the topic - it's something you like to think about. 2. You can do a test to find an answer to a question. A good Science Fair project is an experiment - that means it's a test to find an answer to a question you have. For example, if you are interested in bugs and you saw some ants moving real slowly once on a cold day, you might test to see what effect temperature has on the rate at which bugs move. You'd get some bugs, find a way to make their container a little colder than normal and measure how fast they moved somehow. Then you'd make their container a little warmer than normal and measure what happened then. Don't do demonstrations or simple reports - those don't use the scientific method. They are just showing what you know about something. For example, a diagram or model of something with no test/experiment. 3. You can do it with only a little help from parents, teachers and friends. The reason to do a project is because it's fun and you will learn something you didn't know before. Having someone else help too much takes away some of your fun and you don't learn as much. Your project doesn't have to be perfect, just neat and following the scientific method. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you really need it. 4. It doesn't hurt or scare people or animals, including you. It's not only a bad idea, it is also against the rules of our science fair and of the regional science fair to hurt or badly scare people or animals as part of an experiment. You also may not use dangerous materials in your project except in very special situations when you get permission from the coordinators. Ask advice about this from your parents and teacher. 5. It's a project that, even when you are done with it, makes you think of new things you want to know. One way to tell if you have a good project is to see if the results make you wonder about other things. Did doing the project, or reading or seeing what happened make you think of other questions you are curious about? That's a great project! 1. well according to your question, you have chosen your topic. 2. Gather Background Information Gather information about your topic from books, magazines, the Internet, people and companies. Keep notes about where you got your info NEVER STOP RESEARCHING! there is no such thing as too much factual information when it comes to science and research! :) 3. Scientific Method State the Purpose of your experiment - What are you trying to find out? Select a variable (something you will change/vary) that will help you find your answer. State your Hypothesis - your guess about what the answer will be. Decide on and describe how you will change the thing you selected. Decide on and describe how you will measure your results. (Asking why for everything that happens is never a stupid question when searching for the answer for EVERYTHING that happens during your experiment and research). Why is the world round (equal pressure) why is there pressure (gravity) why is there gravity (magnetism) why is there magnetism etc. etc. etc. see where I am going. this way here you know everything about everything. Any question will never be too hard after hard thorough research. 4. Run Controlled Experiment and Record Data Do the experiment as described above. Keep notes in one place. Write down everything you can think of, you might need it later. (also think of all of the possible questions that would come along with your discoveries thay other people might ask. what is your answer? 5. Graphs and Charts What happened? Answer that question, then put the results in graphs and charts. what ever is easier for you, well illustrated explanation or pictures could also help (graphing would be better to show your audiance). 6. Construct an Exhibit or Display It has to be neat, but it does NOT have to be typed. Make it fun, but be sure people can understand what you did. Show that you used the Scientific Method. 7. Write a short Report Tell the story of your project - tell what you did and exactly how you did it. Include a page that shows where you gathered background information. It can be 2 pages or even more. Paper Guidelines to help you out. 8. Practice Presentation to Judges Practice explaining your project to someone (parent, friend, grandparent, etc.) This will help you be calm on Science Fair Day. The judges are very nice and will be interested in what you did and what you learned. and as said in the other preparations above, if you have all of these down, then everything else is cake, knowledge builds confidence a great deal. 9. Come to the Fair and have fun! True compassion for something you do hardley fails. I love Earth Science, I have an extreme passion for it. (how do you think I became one of the top ten on Yahoo answers for Earth Science?) I also like medical, I am second in my class. Class consists of about 500 students. I believe in you, and you should too!