We re so excited for the 2017 Painted Sky Science Fair! We have a long history of strong student participation and a successful track record of SARSEF winners and are proud to carry on the tradition. Before you get started, please take a moment to read through a few important facts for 2017, as well as the information that s available to you on the Painted Sky website. Information to Review Before You Get Started After you register on the Painted Sky website, please take the time to review the rules and guidelines in this document. We ve included what we think are the most important things to know. However, the SARSEF website has even more information available; we highly recommend you review the elementary school section there: http://sarsef.org/students/elementary/ Any questions? Please contact us: Maegan Hanks maeganhanks@gmail.com Jessica Wiest zac.and.jessica@gmail.com Kristen Mitchell krisperkat@hotmail.com
2017 General Information and Dates Before you begin Review important forms and information: https://www.amphi.com/schools/painted-sky/sciencefair.aspx Registration Due February 7th Register via the Painted Sky website: http://tinyurl.com/2016-painted-sky-science-fair Project Drop-Off February 14th 7:30 8:30 AM in the MPR **Please note there are no exceptions for absences. If your child is absent, please have someone drop off their display as judging begins promptly Tuesday morning. Guest Viewing Hours February 15 th 6:30 7:30 PM Parents and guests are welcome! Awards Announced February 16 th 8:50 AM Awards will be presented during morning announcements. Projects Removal February 16 th 3:15-5:00 PM Please have your child pick up their project after school. Any projects remaining will be thrown away.
Overview We offer 3 project categories Informational Display: Invention: Experiment: A display of research in an area of interest (solar system, volcanoes, etc.) Informational displays are not eligible for SARSEF competition and will not be judged nor eligible for awards. A student-created invention. Inventions are not eligible for SARSEF and will not be judged nor eligible for awards. Follows the scientific method. Experiments are eligible for SARSEF and will be judged. You may enter as an individual, a group, or a class. If you enter as part of a class, you may also enter an individual project. Experiments Experiments must follow the scientific method (see separate handout). If you are doing an experiment, please visit the SARSEF website to ensure you are following all guidelines to be eligible for SARSEF competition. www.sarsef.org Important! If your experiment will involve any vertebrate mammals (including family, friends or pets) or hazardous materials of any type you MUST receive permission from the Scientific Review Committee (SRC) at SARSEF BEFORE starting your project. Additionally, human participants who willingly participate will need to sign a consent form. See the forms available on the Painted Sky Science Fair link. Make a copy of the response letter granting you permission to proceed and place it in the envelope on the back of your project. Keep the original. ***If you do not follow these procedures, your experiment will be disqualified.*** Important! If your experiment will involve growing any molds or bacteria, it must follow these guidelines: o Mold - bread mold projects may be allowed at home ONLY if the study is stopped as soon as the mold is seen - as soon as mold starts to grow, the bread is thrown away. Otherwise the project must be conducted in a controlled school or laboratory environment. o Bacteria - at NO time is bacteria culturing allowed at home. Samples may be collected at home or in the environment, but they must then be taken to a laboratory (school or lab) to be grown. Please review SARSEF rules for specifics regarding the type of bacteria that can be grown in a BSL 1 lab, etc.
Students should be prepared to explain their experiment in detail. In the event of a tie, student interviews will be used as the tiebreaker. Identification 1. All projects must have the following information listed on a 3 x 5 card and placed in an envelope on the back of the display board. A. Student s name B. Grade C. Teacher s name D. Category (Experiment, Informational Display, or Invention) E. SARSEF SRC form (see form on school website) PLEASE DO NOT PLACE CHILD S NAME ON THE FRONT OF THE PROJECT Need help? The SARSEF website has a wealth of information: Display and Presentation Please review the sample judges scoring sheet (available on the Painted Sky website) so that you are familiar with how your project will be judged. SARSEF criteria places an emphasis on creativity; for example, is the project a novel idea and unique compared with previous science fair projects? As a result, we ve revised the judges score sheet to more closely mirror what SARSEF is looking for. Please take a look at both the Painted Sky and SARSEF judging forms on the website so you can get familiar with what judges are looking for.
Top 5 Mistakes Please take a moment to review this list some of these mistakes could disqualify your project! 1. Not filling out the SRC and Informed Consent form before starting. If using animals or humans, you must fill out the SRC form. If using humans, you must have them fill out an Informed Consent. The SRC form must be approved by Painted Sky administration. The Informed Consent forms do not need to be approved but need to be in the envelope on the back of your display board. 2. Not including each step of the scientific method. Make sure to review the document on the Painted Sky website. 3. Growing mold or bacteria at home. Any pathogens must be grown at school. 4. Bringing items for display. Only your journal will be allowed. Any additional items should be displayed via pictures on your display board. Living organisms such as a plants or soil are not allowed, whether it is displayed on your board or not. 5. Having your name or face visible on your display board. Judging is anonymous. Your name should be in an envelope on the back of your board. Any photos of you will be covered up before judging.