Tips for a Successful Science Fair

As some of you may know, our Centre Director Megan Seier had the privilege of being one of the judges at a local science fair in February 2020.  
Here are some things to think about as you plan and prepare for a science fair.

All of the judges will be trying to determine the same general thing: your ability to independently conduct and communicate original, meaningful STEM research.  Each judge comes from their own personal and professional background - they might have done this for years, or might not have judged at this type of competition before - and they might be more (or less) informed about your specific topic. This is why your ability to communicate clearly is so important.

Here are some questions the judges might ask you:

Why/How did you choose this topic? 
How does your approach differ from the previous approaches in this field?

Can you walk me through your experiment's design? How and why did you make design decisions?

If your test had shown a different result, what might that change in your method or your conclusion?

I personally loved hearing the students' stories about their teamwork and developing their process. While the results are great, the process shows your understanding of the scientific method, and how reproducable the results may be. If you're nervous, talking about your setup is also a great way to get more comfortable and show your knowledge and enthusiasm!

Thanks for listening to some thoughts as I reminisce about the pre-covid days,

~Megan