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District 9 Science Day Handbook
March 21, 2015 from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Zane State College
Advanced Science Technology Center
Zanesville, Ohio 43701
Snow Date: March 28
Contact Elizabeth Kline at [email protected] or 740.588.4116 for more information or
questions.
Inside this handbook, you will find answers to the Frequently Asked Questions about the Science
Day event; the Forms and committees needed; Science Projects in general; and the Scientific
Process including board examples; and finally, helpful web links.
Frequently Asked Questions about Science Day
Who may participate in District 9?
Students’ grades 5-12 from Coshocton, Muskingum, Guernsey, Noble, Monroe, and Washington
counties are eligible to participate in the District 9 Science Day. All participants MUST have
been judged at least one time previously at a local or county fair and received a SUPERIOR
rating to be eligible for District Science Day. However, if a local fair is not available, students
may submit completed projects to the District 9 Science Review Committee for consideration by
February 23, 2015.
Are Team research projects allowed at District 9 Science Day?
Yes. However, Team projects may consist of no more than 3 students. ALL team members
must belong to the same school and same grade brackets (5-6), (7-8), or (9-12), and ALL team
members must be present to be judged at District 9 Science Day.
Do I have to participate in my county science fair before coming to the district?
No, although every student project MUST have been judged at least one time previously, at
either a school or county science fair, and have received a SUPERIOR rating to be eligible for
District 9 Science Day.
If I get a Superior at District 9 Science Day, will I go on to State Science Day?
Not necessarily. Each year District 9 is granted a certain number of guaranteed spots and
alternates at State Science Day. Priority goes to students in grades 7 through 12 that earn a
Superior at District Day. If there are leftover guaranteed or alternate slots, the remaining slots
will be filled with 5th and 6th graders, ranked according to scores.
Does it cost anything to participate at the District 9 Science Day?
Yes, each participating student is required to pay a $20 registration fee, which is due when the
registration is submitted. If you are participating as part of a team, each team member must pay
the $20 registration fee. The registration fee must be paid when students submit their
registration form online. You can pay online or send in a check when you mail in the
accompanying paperwork. You must mail, fax, or email scanned copies of your paperwork
(these cannot be submitted through the online registration system). Schools that pay for their
student registration fees may send a copy of a purchase order with the student registrations. If
fees are not received within 10 days after District 9 Science Day, the school will be invoiced for
the number of students registered.
Is District 9 Science Day affiliated with an ISEF event?
This year there is the potential that District 9 will be able to send a certain number of delegates to
the Buckeye Science and Engineering Fair (BSEF), which is an ISEF qualifying fair. At this
point in time, the District has not received the allowed number of delegates. Only students from
9th through 12th grades from the following counties may qualify for the BSEF: Muskingum,
Guernsey, Coshocton, Noble and Monroe. Students in Washington County have the opportunity
to qualify through a different fair. BSEF will be held April 4, 2015 at the 4-H Center in
Columbus, Ohio.
Does my project need prior review and approval?
All projects need an initial review by an adult sponsor which is documented on Form 1.
Studies involving human subjects need additional review and approval by an
Institutional Review Board (IRB). This board should be established at your school or your
regional fair.
Studies involving vertebrate animals or potentially hazardous biological agents require an
additional review and approval by your fair's Scientific Review Committee (SRC).
Hazardous chemicals, activities and devices require an additional review by a supervising adult
and a Risk Assessment Form must be completed.
Must students be present for judging?
YES! Attendance is expected for Judging Day on March 21, 2015! Unfortunately, exceptions
cannot be made.
Must students be present at the Awards Ceremony?
The Awards Ceremony is optional, although it is highly suggested that you attend. Although
students find out about their ratings right away, they will not find out whether or not they were
chosen to attend State or if they won special awards until the Awards Ceremony!
What do I do between the end of judging at 12pm and the Awards Ceremony at 2pm?
There will be activities for the whole family in the ASTC building from 12pm-2pm including
presentations and hands-on activities by college faculty as well as fun activities like a photo
booth and drawings for prizes (must be present to win). Food will be available for purchase from
Zane State College student groups.
What should the project display consist of? What should not be included?
Check out the Ohio Academy of Science Standards and the University of Mount Union
District 13 Science Day website for helpful tips. We cannot allow any live organisms (this
includes plants), no liquids (including water), anything potentially dangerous (hypodermic
needles, disease organisms, etc.), anything of great monetary value, previous awards, business
cards, anything large enough to infringe on another exhibitor’s space and live animals. Displays
are not allowed to include photographs of people other than you. Use a sticker to cover the faces
of anyone else in your photos. Also, be sure to have safety goggles on in any photos reflecting
time spent in research.
What should I wear?
Answer: Dress to impress! This is a great opportunity to mingle with business professionals in
the fields of Science and Engineering as well as college and university representatives. First
impressions are key! Business attire is appropriate.
Is food provided?
Food items will be available for purchase. The food items are provided and sold by
Zane State College student clubs and organizations as a fundraising activity.
What happens during judging?
Students should be prepared to explain their projects to 3-4 different judges. Judges will be
interested in hearing about your hypothesis, experimental design, data and conclusions.
Judges may also ask you additional questions such as, “How did you think of this research
project,” or “if you were to do this project again, what would you do differently,” or “if you
could continue this research, what would you do next?” You may want to consider preparing a
brief presentation in response to the question, “What did you do?” It can be helpful to outline a
possible 3-4 minute explanation in advance but don’t memorize or set a speech. Graphs, pictures
and models can be helpful in explaining the more complicated aspects of a project. A couple of
hints-1) Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” (in other words, don’t try to fake it!) and 2) Relax!
Keep in mind judges study project reports before students arrive or after they leave and
they will look at your log book and your backboard at those times. Don’t forget to
introduce yourself to the judges in the beginning, shake their hands, and thank them for
their time when the judging interview concludes. Judging will take between 9am and 12pm.
Students will remain with their projects during the entire judging time.
Reminder: Students ONLY during Judging-NO parents or teachers please
When do I set up my project?
Set-up is from 8am to 9am.
When can I take my project?
Projects must be picked up by all participants immediately following the Awards Ceremony on
the day of the event. If you are unable to attend the Awards Ceremony, be sure to make
arrangements with a friend to pick up your project. Projects left behind may be discarded.
Where can a student get additional fair information or project advice?
Please contact Elizabeth Kline at 740.588.4116 or [email protected] for more information.
Helpful web resources are included on our web links page near the end of this document.
Frequently Asked Questions about Forms, IRB, and SRC
Do I need to fill out these forms?
Your packet contains forms that cover both individual and team projects - choose the one
appropriate for your project. Your packet also contains forms petitioning SRC/IRB approval. If
your project doesn't need SRC or IRB approval, then don't worry about these sections.
The following forms are required:
• OAS Consent and Release
• ISEF Form 1
• ISEF Form 1A
• ISEF Form 1B
• Research Plan form
• Abstract form
• Any other forms specific to project from forms packet
What's the SRC?
SRC stands for Scientific Review Committee. Any project dealing with vertebrate animals,
pathogenic agents, controlled substances, or recombinant DNA has to have its research plan
approved by the SRC before any experiments begin. If it breathes and it isn't a bug, if it
explodes, if it can make you sick, if you need special permission to work with it - then you need
SRC approval.
What's the IRB?
IRB stands for Institutional Review Board. Any project dealing with human subjects has to have
its research plan approved by the IRB before experiments begin. Every scientific study on people
at every level has to pass this qualification. If you want to try to prove your brother's dumber
than a hamster, you need IRB approval before you run him through a maze.
Can I be both parent/guardian and adult sponsor?
Yes.
Which projects need SRC or IRB approval?
Projects that do not involve human subjects, vertebrate animals, pathogenic agents like bacteria
and fungi, controlled substances or recombinant DNA require less paperwork. If your project
falls into any of these areas, you need SRC/IRB approval.
The IRB (Institutional Review Board) reviews projects dealing with human subjects, and is made
up of a school staff member, a person from the health care field, and a person with a science
background. They need to review your research plan before you begin your project to make sure
your methods are safe and ethical. The SRC (Scientific Review Committee) reviews projects
dealing with vertebrate animals (fur, fins, feathers, or scales...), pathogenic agents, controlled
substances, or recombinant DNA.
Can one committee serve as both an SRC and IRB?
Yes, if your committee includes a biomedical scientist, science teacher, school administrator and
someone knowledgeable and capable of evaluating physical and/or psychological risk involved
in a study involving human subjects.
Who can serve as a Designated Supervisor for my project?
The Designated Supervisor may be a teacher, adult sponsor, parent, university professor or
scientist who will be directly responsible for overseeing the experiment.
The Designated Supervisor need not have an advanced degree, but should be thoroughly familiar
with the student's project and must be trained in the student's area of research.
If I conduct my study in a location other than a school or home, do I need a Form 1C?
A Form 1C is required for experiments or equipment use on projects in research institutions,
commercial or college laboratories, government or industrial settings (i.e. machine shop,
manufacturer facility), and medical facilities. The form needs to be completed by the supervising
scientist AFTER you have completed your work. In addition to submitting a Form 1C, you need
to check the appropriate box on Student Checklist Form 1A, question 7.
How do I determine if a chemical is hazardous?
Ask your supervising adult and consult the Safety and Data Sheet (SDS) for the chemical(s) you
plan to use. Some SDS sheets (e.g. Flinn), rank the degree of hazard associated with a chemical.
Generally a rating more than 1 should be considered hazardous. It is possible that two or more
chemicals ranked 0 or 1 when mixed can react and form a hazardous chemical.
Can I culture potentially hazardous biological agents at home?
No - collection may be done at home, but the culturing must be done at a school or a lab, given
the potential risks inherent in the process
How do I find out the Biosafety level of an organism?
Visit the website for the American Biological Safety Association at www.absa.org or the
American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) at www.atcc.org
Should all studies using water or soil collected from the environment be considered
involving potentially hazardous biological agents?
No. Even though water and soil could contain potentially pathogenic organisms, studies
involving these samples are considered potentially hazardous only when the sample is cultured.
The use of a coliform test kit to determine the presence of coliform bacteria does not categorize
the project as one involving potentially hazardous biological agents.
What is a blood by-product?
Blood by-products result from the separation of blood and can include red blood cells, plasma,
Factor 8, etc. These products must follow the rules of Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents
(PHBA), as their handling and use can require special safety precautions.
Frequently Asked Questions about Science Projects
(Much of this information is courtesy of a handbook provided by the University of Mount Unionplease check out their website for an extensive overview of the Science Day process and
projects: http://raider.mountunion.edu/Organizations/scienceday/index.html)
What is science research?
You start with a science question, an idea you find interesting. Research involves finding
information by observing and asking questions. You can find answers in books, magazines, on
the Internet, or interviewing people who know about your subject. Be sure to write down where
your answers come from.
Where can I get a good idea for my science fair project?
Talk to other people, like a classmate, or a teacher. Your librarian can point you toward books
that are full of project suggestions. Lots of web sites are there to help kids come up with ideas for
research. Look around you - what are you curious about?
How do I get started?
Once you have learned everything you can about your project idea, think of a way to express
your research question as a statement that describes what you think will happen: your hypothesis.
Then test that hypothesis to see if you were right. Before you start testing, check with an adult to
make sure your experiment idea is a safe one. Write down what you find out. Relate what you
found out (your results) to your hypothesis. Where you right? Were you wrong? Why?
What steps do I need to follow for my science fair project?
1. Fill out forms and get your research plan approved. ("This is what I want to do.")
2. Do your research - and keep a log book to record what happened when. ("Let's do it!")
3. Write an abstract. ("Here's what happened - this is what we expected, this is what we did, and
this is what actually happened, which means...")
4. Create a stand-alone poster to present your findings as well as a written research report.
What's an abstract?
An abstract is a short report that explains what your project was - and how you went about doing
it - and what you learned from doing it.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Scientific Process
An Overview of the Process
• Select a topic, research plan
• Fill out forms 1, 1A, 1B, and research plan- prior to research
• School Scientific Review Committee reviews research plans/forms and approves
• Complete research project
• Make sure to write report and abstract
• Local Science Day
• District Science Day
Projects are judged on the following criteria:
• Knowledge achieved
• Use of scientific method, technological design
• Clarity of expression
• Originality and creativity
10 points each category
Superior- 36, Excellent- 24, Good- 12, Satisfactory- 4* (*not used at State)
Team- add teamwork category
An Overview of the Scientific Method
• State question or problem
• Gather background info
• Formulate hypothesis, identify variables
• Design experiment, establish procedures
• Test hypothesis multiple times
• Analyze results and draw conclusions
• Present results
An Overview of the Technological Design or Engineering Process
• Define a problem or need
• Gather background info
• Establish design statement or criteria for success
• Prepare preliminary designs
• Build a prototype and test multiple times
• Analyze results; verify, test & redesign as necessary
• Present results
What does a complete project include?
Graphic from ISEF How to Do a Science Fair Project Guide
A Physical Display (no more than 36” wide, 30” deep)- must stand alone
• No live organisms, apparatus, or other items are allowed to be displayed or taped to the
Board
Complete Written Research Report, which includes the following sections
• Title page including the date and name of student
• Table of contents [optional for reports fewer than 10 pages]
• A single paragraph abstract with project title and name of student (250 words or fewer)
• Introduction-(background, problem and hypothesis or technological design statement)
• Methods and materials used to study problem
• Results including an analysis of collected data with graphs, tables, photographs and diagrams
illustrate investigation
to
• Discussion including conclusions and implications for further research.
• References. Do not use the term bibliography. Technically a bibliography is
an exhaustive
list of perhaps thousands of references on a limited topic and is not used in most scientific
reports.
Lab Notebook
Abstract (250 words or less), which includes a few sentences summarizing the following points:
• Background information necessary to understand the project and its importance.
• The problem that was investigated and the hypothesis.
• Outline of the materials and methods used in the actual experimentation.
• Summary of the results obtained from experimentation.
• The conclusions drawn from results.
• The importance or potential applications that the research offers.
Copies of Completed Forms
• OAS Consent and Release
• ISEF Form 1
• ISEF Form 1A
• ISEF Form 1B
• Research Plan form
• Abstract form
• Any other forms specific to project from forms packet
Helpful Links
Zane State College Science Day: http://ZaneState.edu/scienceday
Ohio Academy of Sciences (OAS): http://ohiosci.org/
OAS Standards- Describes all the requirements and rules for projects and Science Day, which
also apply to District Science Day:
http://ohiosci.org/state-science-day-forms/
Rules Wizard- Helps determine what forms are needed. Although the Rules Wizard is part of the
International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the same forms are used by the Ohio
Academy of Sciences: https://apps2.societyforscience.org/wizard/index.asp
How to fill out forms: http://www.societyforscience.org/page.aspx?pid=517
University of Mount Union District 13 Website- contains excellent information for students,
parents, and teachers on how to do science projects and what to expect at Science Day:
http://raider.mountunion.edu/Organizations/scienceday/index.html
For additional information, please contact Elizabeth Kline at [email protected] or
740.588.4116.