We too just had our K-6 science fair. When the chairperson asked if the our Home School Assoc (PTA) could help with set-up, clean-up, general directions and ice cream treat sale, we immediately agreed. We were short volunteers, the usual problem. I came up with the following idea. Keeping with the "Science Theme" I went to the teacher that leads our school Science Olympiad Team and made an offer that she could not refuse. If her group would volunteer to help they could keep the profits from the ice cream sale and receive communtiy service hours (each student at our high school has to have 40 hours of comm. ser.to graduate) The students were thrilled! To add to the fair, the High School teacher spoke to the elementary teacher running the fair and offered to do live experiments during the fair. We ended up selling all 350 ice cream bars with profits going for new Olympiad shirts, each rec'd 3 hrs of community service time. The HS students said the best part was doing the science experiments, for which both parents and student enjoyed.
In the end here's what we accomplished- first we worked as a team with our staff & students, we helped keep the fair running smoothly, we made the younger students feel very special and we promoted the school by showing parents & students that our school has more to offer in science department as their children move up in grade level.
Thank you.
Barb Miller, President
Charter School for Applied Technologies
Buffalo, New York
We hold a free family science night and display the 5th grade science fair projects in the cafeteria and have science demos and hands on experimnets etc in lots of other rooms and outside. The high school science club plans and runs all the science rooms for us.
I think you are right on with the your idea of offering activities during the science fair. The child that didn't participate with a project this year could be drawn to the event by the other activities, become excited about science and participate the next year. Finding ways to get non-participating students and their families to attend the fair builds involvement and interest.
I think you might want to go beyond the participation certificates too. Find professionals in your community who work in science related fields and have them judge the projects, then give awards in different areas.(Check out state science fair websites to get ideas of categories). My son recently participated in a regional and then state science fair, place quite high, and came away with some nice financial rewards. Once students are in high school, they can get some really big scholarship $$. Just a thought.
Our science teacher is looking for ways to get more people involved at the science fair. I love the idea of paper airplanes and maybe kites, since it is National Kite Month. Oriental trading has paper airplanes for super cheap. Anyone else have any good ideas. We are doing a concession stand. I love the idea of donating the money to a science related project.
:confused:I was the chair of my daughters' elementary school science fair committee for three years, and after the first year, we began to offer activities during the science fair (paper airplane contest, live animal presentations, etc.). We also started selling donated baked goods and coffee, etc., and we donated the money to a science-related cause. I found these activites greatly increased student participation and brought parents, siblings, and teachers to the fair and kept them there for the evening. I thought the fairs were very successful, and the feedback I received was overwhelmingly positive.
My daughters are now in middle school, and I have been trying to get involved with the PTO science fair. Last year, the only thing they did at the fair was have kids set up projects and give them certificates of participation. Participation was low (about 40 students participated of approximately 600 eligible students -- it is only for 5th and 6th graders), and only parents of participating students attended.
I have offered to organize some activities -- we have quite a few resources that would be free or low cost -- but the response I keep getting is that the fair is "about the kids" and any activities would "take attention away from the kids' projects." I have been told I am welcome to help set up tables on the day of the fair.
I always thought the fair was to get kids excited about science -- the projects are part of that, but I thought the other activities really enhanced the experience.
