Science Fair: The first few steps...

This week we will talk about the Science Fair next term. We will talk much more about this next term. Below, I have included some things to get you thinking about what is involved in the Science Fair and how we will go about completing it.

Research: Start off by finding out as much as you can about your topic. Visit the library, browse the web, discuss your ideas with your parents, your teachers, your friends, arrange to talk with an expert . . .

You can access a wide range of encyclopedias and other reference material online through the Wellington City Libraries.

Your Question: Now that you know something about your subject, you need to decide on a problem you can investigate: a question that you can test by doing experiments e.g. how does ______ affect ________, or a device or gadget that you can design, build and test to fulfill a task. Use your imagination, be different, but also be practical: make sure you have the resources and the time to complete your project.

Plan your experiments: or your design. Try to be methodical, logical and organised! You have identified one variable you want to investigate, but are there others?

For example, I am investigating how much baking powder I should put in my cake mixture to make the cake rise the most. But what other variables might affect the way cakes rise? Other ingredients in the recipe? Cooking time? Cooking temperature? Brand of baking powder? . . . All these other variables must be kept the same throughout my experiments if it's the amount of baking powder I want to check.

Think carefully about how you are going to make your measurements 'How do you measure how much a cake has risen? '