Presenting Scientific Information and Science Fair Projects

• Keep it simple. Use only the minimum amount of text.

• Be creative.

• A picture paints a 1000 words. Use pictures or diagrams whenever possible. Data can be represented in the form of tables or plots. The more graphical (and less tabular) the better.

• Keep it safe (no solutions, liquids, fires, explosions, etc.).

Posters are most common.

• The poster should be able to present the information by itself, without additional explanations. A poster is NOT a written report that is pasted on posterboard.

• In addition to the poster, some students provide their lab books for viewing and additional data that did not fit onto the poster. Some give a display of the tools they used or an example of the substance they studied. Some students will also provide computer-generated images or demonstrations. (Keep it safe.)

Posters should include the following:

Title and Author(s) (include your school name and address)

Purpose: (or Introduction)

This is where you include the question that you are asking and the “bigger picture” into which this question fits.

Experimental:

In this section, include the procedures that you used to answer the question. Include methods used to give objective measures. Explain why you chose those measures. Describe the variables that were held constant and those that were changed. Enough detail should be described so that someone else can reproduce the experiments.

Results and Discussion:

Present results in a variety of ways, the more visual, the better. Explain your interpretation of the results (what do the results mean?).

Conclusions:

Summarize the question that you are asking and results that you obtained. List the parts that worked and those that did not. Indicate improvements for future studies.

References (Literature or Books used).

Use a standard referencing format. Examples can be found in your textbooks.

Acknowledgments: Your teacher, other people who helped you or provided materials and equipment that you used.

• For example: I thank Ms. Connie Grau for her helpful discussions and Ms. Ann Smith for providing the seeds for the project. I would also like to acknowledge Joe Adams for taking and developing the pictures of the plants.

• Phrases:

Active: I thank…. I acknowledge…. I am grateful to…. I greatly appreciate….

Passive: Thanks are expressed for…. “X” is acknowledged for…. Great appreciation is expressed for….

 Next