#projectready Part Two!

We finished!

Well, Michael finished.

This year, I was very strict about him completing his science fair project all by himself.

I was there for guidance, but not to complete the project for him. I think that 5th grade is a time where Mom takes a little (ok, a lot) less responsibility for the science fair project. I know that for most of us, we like to see things perfect when it comes to big projects, and it’s so hard (I know this) to not step in and “help” our children.

This project board may not be the most eye-catching, or the prettiest, but it was 100% Michael’s work, and for that I’m a proud Mom.

When I left off last week, Michael was beginning to put his science fair board together.

But before we look at building the board, here’s a quick science fair timeline so you know how we got here:

September: School has their annual science fair information night, students begin to think about projects. Michael already knew what his project would be. His experiment?

Does age or gender determine the amount of time that someone can hold their breath?

October: Human/Animal Subject forms are due. Only students working with live humans or animals need to hand in this form which asks for information about your experiment, what precautionary measures you are taking, and what research you have done on the subject. We got our form from the Southern Arizona Regional Science and Engineering Fair, which works with the schools in Southern Arizona.

November: This would have been a perfect time for Michael to begin working on his experiment, but… he’s 10. And most 10 year-olds are procrastinators. And since I was taking the “less responsibility” route as a Mom, I sat quiet for the month of November…

…and December.

January: With one month to go until the project was due, I gently forced reminded Michael that his experiment needed to be done. He started asking friends and family members to hold their breath for him.

February: Project is due! We turned it in on time and Michael was happy with his finished product (so was Mom!).

—

Putting the science fair board together seemed a little overwhelming at first. So, this is how we tackled it:

1. Michael organized all of his information (big question, hypothesis, materials & procedures, data & graphs, results, conclusion, abstract) into one document on the computer. He made sure the headings matched and that there were a few spaces in between each section.

2. Michael printed his document.

3. He cut the sections apart with a paper cutter, and started to glue them on the board.

After Mom hinted that:

#1. He shouldn’t have his board on the floor

#2. A little color might be appealing to the judges

he moved his board up to the table and decided that construction paper backing would work well. (Jack was really good at supervising, as you can see)

4. Michael used rubber cement to adhere the printed paper to construction paper, then cut his sections out.

The important part of this was to lay all of the sections out in the correct order (the correct layout for the board is on the SARSEF website) before gluing them in place. Michael realized that somewhere along the line, he had misplaced a section. So, he reprinted it and he was on his way.

5. Stand proudly behind your board and let the world know that you rocked it.

So there you have it. Science Fair 2011.

If you’re having trouble finding a place to enter your science fair board, visit the Society for Science for suggestions!

And just for fun? A video of the 5th grader telling you about his science fair project.