Thread: Science Fairs? Opinions please

Well, it's that time of year again, so I thought I'd move this to the top..

What experiences are you teachers having with science fairs this year?

I remember posting this years ago!

Science fair came early for us this school year...at the end of November. This came about as a result of our system fair being moved up and all that was a chain reaction result of our state science fair being moved up to March. While we were honored to have two students who are going to the state science fair this year (one of whom is my student), I was a little dismayed at it being so early. I usually spend the first part of the year teaching the 6th graders how to do an experiment/investigation and I just wasn't able to do that as effectively as I wanted to this year.

More than that, our school system insisted on some very cumbersome paperwork requirements that only added to the burden of it all.

Both I and many other teachers at my school are thinking of not taking part in science fair next year and, instead, looking into doing something else.

I have always found them more trouble than they are worth for a learning experience. Everytime the subject comes up, I , mmmmm well what is it that I do? I dodge, duck, argue, and at times stamp my feet.

Gives me the willies just thinking about it.

I don't think TOO much of Science Fairs-- at least not as an Educational Pursuit. The last one my co-teacher and I had, we insisted the "entries" had to ask and answer a scientific question, with a hypothesis, variables, the whole bit (jeeeez I hope Lizard isn't reading this). These required much more LEARNING than the "exploding volcano" sorts, but is was still arduous. I know we weren't all that thrilled with the results....and haven't had one in about 3 years....the Prince has made noises about having another one since, but every time he brings it up we "do a Bitsy"

Lisa

Science fairs? Hot d**n! A great excuse to burn things and blow stuff up!

If only they were that exciting . . .

How bizarre.
I sort of, kind of remember this thread, but I have NO memory of joining this forum as "scienceteacher". I've always used Mary/SATX or Shamrock online.

We've just about given up on Science Fair altogether. Our 7th and 8th grade GT classes do a project, classroom teachers pick the best, the rest of the department judges after school, then we all go have a margarita.

It's a non-event. Mostly it's a way to differentiate GT and non-GT classes.

I do not believe we have a science fair at my school, if we do it is done in secret! I was thinking, to get parents to stay out of the science project, maybe you can do a small science fair and only work on it during class. If you reworked your schedule a little bit, you might be able to fit some time in at the end of class. You might even be able to have one day out of the week, where you stay after school and kids can work on it. Since the teacher would be supervising the after school part, parents would not be able to get their hands on the project. If some kids do not have a ride for the after school project day, you can see about carpooling kids who might leave close to one another.

Whether it's an English project, a math project or a science project, having students create a real-world product and be as professional as possible in the process is a vital skill if students are to grow into capable, thinking, problem-solving adults. One thing, however, is a must. Parents are already adults. They don't need to do a science project. Guiding and answering questions is one thing. Teachers aren't hired to grade the work of the parents.