• How to put on a science fair 

• Help for parents 

• Goals for science fairs 

• Non-experimental projects 

• Judging of science fairs 

• Non-competitive science fairs 

• Science fairs and children with special needs 

• Research related to science fairs 

• Research on gender issues and science fairs 

Most of these papers are abstracted in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) system.  

How To Put On a Science Fair  

Balas, A. K. (1998). Science fairs in elementary school. ERIC Digest. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education.  [ ERIC: ED432444 ]  The author discusses developmentally appropriate projects and includes resources for science-fair organizers.  

Cramer, N. (1981). Preparing for the fair: Fifteen suggestions. Science and Children, 19 (3), 18-19.  [ ERIC: EJ254326 ]  The author suggests ways to plan fairs for younger students.

Flindt, M. (1985). 7 ways to put some snap into your school's science fair.  Learning, 13 (7), 28-30.  [ ERIC: EJ313016 ]  The author suggests developing new categories of projects, issuing a challenge for participants, and involving the community.

Rivard, L. (1989). A teacher's guide to science fairing. School Science and Mathematics, 89 (3), 201-207.  [ ERIC: EJ391204 ]  This article helps teachers prepare to help their students.

Ward, A. (1994). Planning, organizing, and staging a school science fair. School Science Review, 75 (273), 41-47.  [ ERIC: EJ510753 ]  This article provides basic information for science-fair organizers.

Watt, S. (Ed.). (1988). Science Fairs and Projects K-8. A Collection of Articles Reprinted from "Science and Children," "Science Scope," and "The Science Teacher." Washington, DC: National Science Teachers Association.  [ ERIC: ED291563 ]  Aimed at teachers, this collection of reprints from National Science Teachers Association journals includes articles about how to organize and judge science fairs and how to help students with their projects.

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Help for Parents  

     Articles

Blume, Stephen C. (1987). Recipe for a super science fair project. PTA Today, 13 (1), 19-20.  [ ERIC: EJ364352 ]  The authors list seven steps to a successful project.

DeBruin, J. E. (1980). How can I help my child with a science fair project? Science Activities, 17 (3), 16-18.  [ ERIC: EJ235126 ]  The authors include a list of 16 ways that parents can help their children complete projects.

Hamrick, L., & Harty, H. (1983). Science fairs: A primer for parents. Science and Children, 20 (5), 23-25.  [ ERIC: EJ275167 ]  Although published in a science teachers’ journal, the authors intend this article to be copied and sent home to parents.

McQueen, D. R. (1991). Science fair scene: Turning ideas into projects. Science Probe, 1 (3), 26-29.  [ ERIC: EJ449233 ]  The author includes two examples of how to turn an idea into a finished project.

     Books

Bochinski, J. B. (1996). The Complete Handbook of Science Fair Projects, Revised Edition. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.  [ ERIC: ED399194 ]  This book provides a step-by-step guide for students, with 50 examples of winning projects.

Fredericks, A. D., & Asimov, I. (1990). The Complete Science Fair Handbook. For Teachers and Parents of Students in Grades 4-8. Glenview, IL: Good Year Books.  [ ERIC: ED317373 ]  This book emphasizes the processes of science and scientific thinking, rather than winning.

Tant, C. (1992). Projects: Making Hands-On Science Easy. A Guide to Science Project Management with Stress Prevention for Teachers & Parents. Angleton, TX: Biotech Publishing.  [ ERIC: ED374005 ]  The author includes activity ideas for students and tips for parents and teachers.

Wolfe, C. (1987). Search: A Research Guide for Science Fairs and Independent Study. Tucson, AZ:  Zephyr Press.  This book was written for gifted, talented, or creative student in grades 4-9, and for their teachers.

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Goals for Science Fairs  

A number of authors have expressed frustration with certain types of science fair projects, which they feel do not reflect how science is really done.  Our feeling is that science is done in lots of different ways, and the challenge is to help students "find the science" in whatever project most appeals to them.  Regardless, here are some examples of these critiques. 

Cornell, E. A. (1981). Science fair projects: Teaching science or something else? Current, The Journal of Marine Education, 3 (1), 17-19.  [ ERIC: EJ251596 ]  The author criticizes the relevance and judging of current science fairs, and then suggests ways to emphasize scientific methodology.

Schneider, R. M., & Lumpe, A. T. (1996). The nature of student science projects in comparison to educational goals for science. Ohio Journal of Science, 96 (4-5), 81-88.  [ ERIC: EJ541849 ]  The authors studied whether student science projects met the goals for science education developed by two national and one state organization.

Smith, N. F. (1980). Why science fairs don't exhibit the goals of science teaching. Science Teacher, 47 (1), 22-24.  [ ERIC: EJ216670 ]  The author challenges science-fair organizers to better support the goals of science education.

Stedman, C. H. (1975). Science fairs, model building, and nonscience. Science and Children, 12 (5), 20-22.  [ ERIC: EJ113329 ]  The author wants to see fewer models based on pre-existing plans and more creative investigations that solve problems or ask questions for which the answers are not immediately available.

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Non-Experimental Projects  

These papers advocate a pluralistic view of science fairs and helped inspire our work.

McNay, M. (1985). The need to explore: Nonexperimental science fair projects. Science and Children, 23 (2), 17-19.  [ ERIC: EJ327277 ]  The author encourages science-fair organizers to accept non-experimental projects from younger students and suggests guidelines for judging these projects.

Watson, R., Goldsworthy, A., & Wood-Robinson, V. (1999). What is not fair with investigations? School Science Review, 80 (292), 101-106.  [ ERIC: EJ597923 ]  Although hypothesis-testing (also known as “fair testing”) projects tend to dominate school science fairs, these authors point out that many other types of projects are possible: (1) classifying and identifying, (2) pattern seeking, (3) exploring, (4) investigating models, and (5) making things.

The following paper includes some interesting ideas about using scientific models with children:

Frazier, R. (2003). Rethinking models. Science and Children, 40 (4), 29-33.  

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Judging of Science Fairs  

I like some of the alternative approaches to judging presented in these articles.

McBride, J. W., & Silverman, F. L. (1988). Judging fairs fairly. Science and Children, 25 (6), 15-18.  [ ERIC: EJ368084 ]  The authors discuss problems with competitive fairs and suggest alternatives to the traditional prize system, including "The Scouting Concept" and "The County Fair Concept."

McQueen, D. R. (1991). Science fair scene: Rules of the game. Science Probe, 1 (4), 27-29.  [ ERIC: EJ449246 ]  The author suggests ways to improve participants’ understanding of the rules.

Stedman, C. H. (1975). Science fairs, model building, and nonscience. Science and Children, 12 (5), 20-22.  [ ERIC: EJ113329 ]  The author suggests giving a “blue ribbon” to any project that meets established criteria, and using judges who understand children and the goals of elementary science education.

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Non-Competitive Science Fairs  

This year our science fair was non-competitive.  That's good -- my son might not have participated if he knew that he might lose.   Here are some articles about non-competitive approaches to fairs. 

Burtch, B. (1983). Who needs the competitive edge? Science and Children, 20 (4), 12-14.  [ ERIC: EJ273399 ]  The author describes how to develop a science fair that is a teaching tool, rather than a contest.

Lewis, C., et al. (1995). Beyond the pendulum: Creating challenging and caring schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 76 (7), 547-554.  [ ERIC: EJ499172 ]  To develop a more caring school community, the authors redesigned their science fair to motivate students, encourage cooperation, and enhance parent participation.

Romjue, M. K., & Clementson, J. J. (1992). An alternative science fair. Science and Children, 30 (2), 22-24.  [ ERIC: EJ469567 ]  The authors advocate for non-competitive science fairs and suggest ways to organize them.

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Science Fairs and Children with Special Needs  

Rice, J. R. (1983). A special science fair: LD children learn what they can do. Science and Children, 20 (4), 15-17.  [ ERIC: EJ273400 ]  Describes how a science fair for learning disabled students affected their attitudes and sense of accomplishment.

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Research Related to Science Fairs

Bunderson, E. D., & Anderson, T. (1996). Preservice elementary teachers' attitudes toward their past experience with science fairs. School Science and Mathematics, 96 (7), 371-377.  [ ERIC: EJ534783 ]  The authors discovered some interesting results:  Although most preservice teachers said science fairs were beneficial, the ones who gave them the highest ratings had never participated in them as students.

Grote, M. (1995). Teacher opinions concerning science projects and science fairs. Ohio Journal of Science, 95 (4), 274-277.   [ ERIC:  EJ525090 ]  In surveying heads of high-school science departments, the authors found that most respondents said independent research projects taught students things they were unlikely to learn in the classroom, and that a slight majority said judging science-fair projects was counterproductive

Knapp, J., II. (1975). Science fairs in the eighth, seventh, or sixth grades? Science and Children, 12 (8), 9-12. (Check number)   [ ERIC: EJ121599 ]  The author discusses the advantages and disadvantages of conducting science fairs for middle-school students.

Syer, C. A., & Shore, B. M. (2001). Science fairs: What are the sources of help for students and how prevalent is cheating? School Science and Mathematics, 101 (4), 206-220.  [ ERIC: EJ630133 ]  The authors found a gap between potential and actual sources of help, and that students said they felt time pressure in completing their projects.

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Research on Gender Issues and Science Fairs  

Adamson, L. B., Foster, M. A., Roark, M. L., & Reed, D. B. (1998). Doing a science project: Gender differences during childhood. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35 (8), 845-857.  [ERIC: EJ574346 ]   The authors report the beginnings of gender differentiation in a program that was supposed to support young children's interest in science.

Bunderson, E. D., & Bunderson, C. V. (1996). Implications of teachers' recollections of topics selected by boys and girls for science fair projects. Journal of Elementary Science Education, 8 (2), 21-31.  [ ERIC: EJ536638 ]  The authors found that teachers recalled more gender-based differences than actually occurred.

Greenfield, T. A. (1995). an exploration of gender participation patterns in science competitions. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32 (7), 735-748.  [ ERIC: EJ512678]  Based on data from state-level science fairs, the author found that more girls participated than boys, and that boys tended to produce more projects in the physical and mathematical sciences.  Boys also produced more projects based on experimental research.

Jones, G. (1991). Gender differences in science competitions. Science Education, 75 (2), 159-167.  [ ERIC: EJ466073 ]  Using Science Olympiad and Westinghouse Science Talent Search data from North Carolina (1987-88), the author found that gender differences in science competitions tended to reflect previously described gender differences in course enrollment and career selection.

Kaplan, J., & Aronson, D. (1994). The numbers gap. Teaching Tolerance, 3 (1), 21-27.  [ ERIC: EJ482637 ]  The authors recommend using girls-only math and science fairs to help counter gender bias.

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