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United States Atomic Energy Commission Division of Technical Information

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 64-65589 1968

ROBERT G. LeCOMPTE majored in English and has worked primarily as a communicator--reporter, house-organ editor and photographer, military-information officer and instructor, public-relations consultant, and information and exhibits specialist. He joined the Atomic Energy Commission's staff at Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1951, transferring in 1957 to the AEC's Headquarters, where he is Exhibits and Education Officer in the Division of Technical Information. His concern with science stems from aviation writing, World War II service as an Air Force pilot and technical-intelligence officer, science-news reporting, and requirements for presenting AEC scientific-technical developments to the lay public. He has been involved in science fair activities since 1960, when he began the study which led to establishment of AEC Special Awards for outstanding nuclear-related exhibits at the National Science Fair-International.

Atoms at the Science Fair Exhibiting Nuclear Projects

by ROBERT G. LeCOMPTE and BURRELL L. WOOD

SCIENCE PROJECTS, EXHIBITS, AND FAIRS

Science Projects

In conducting a good science project, we work in much the same manner as professional scientists. Like them, we observe, experiment, investigate, speculate, and check the validity of our speculations with more experiments, all in order to learn something. If our work is good, others may learn from it too, but only if we present it adequately.

Better understanding of an area of science is the least that we can gain from doing a science project. At their best, science projects foster habits of effective planning, attention to detail, careful work, and high performance standards that will serve us well throughout our lives. Moreover, there is always the promise that the project will open the door to a satisfying career.

Project Exhibits

More and more, scientists are called upon to share their work not only with other scientists but also with legislators, administrators, sociologists, artists--all kinds of people in all kinds of professions. To follow this lead, student scientists also must tell other people about their science projects.

When executed properly, exhibits are an effective way to do this. Exhibits which combine interesting visual materials with well-written messages can communicate much in very limited time and space. Good exhibits can speak clearly to a great variety of viewers. Those already generally familiar with the subject may absorb the entire message, but even the uninitiated will find something of interest.

Science Fairs

Fairs have been popular throughout history. Generally they have been occasions to display work or feats of which people are proud. Often they have stimulated progress and the exchange of goods and ideas.

Early in this century some teachers encouraged their students to undertake individual science projects, then exhibit them before their classmates and fellow students. Between the two World Wars some individual school systems developed citywide science fairs to show the most outstanding of these exhibits from each school. The science fair movement gained momentum rapidly after World War II, and in 1950 the First National Science Fair was held in Philadelphia, drawing exhibitors from 13 affiliated area fairs.

Today the national event draws exhibitors from more than 200 affiliated state and regional fairs. Recent entry of competitors from several other countries has produced its new title--National Science Fair-International . It is the "Olympic Games" for science fair exhibitors, conducted by Science Clubs of America, an activity of Science Service, 1719 N Street N. W., Washington, D. C.

Usually state and regional science fairs are limited, like the national event, to the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades, but occasionally they have a division for junior high school entrants. In school districts where junior high schools hold fairs, the district fair frequently includes both senior high and junior high divisions. Some elementary schools conduct science fairs for their 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students. In both the elementary and junior high school divisions, exhibitors usually compete against entrants of their own grade level, for example, 5th graders against 5th graders, and 9th graders against 9th graders. In the senior division each entrant competes against all others. Although the overall quality of exhibits at local fairs is rarely up to that of regional, state, and national fairs, the local events are possibly the most valuable educational tools because they are viewed by so large a "grass-roots" audience of classmates, parents, teachers, and other local citizens.

In science fairs--as in athletics or music--top prizes are seldom won by first-time competitors. Almost all national fair exhibitors have participated in science fairs at various levels for a year or more before winning their way into the national event. Both experience in science projects and practice in display techniques are required to develop outstanding exhibits. Since this is true, the time to start the science project which will form the basis for your exhibit is now!

YOUR SCIENCE PROJECT

Choosing the Topic

Since you will necessarily spend considerable thought, time, physical effort, and money on your project, pick a topic from which you can expect to learn something. If you can avoid the temptation to pick one with which you are already familiar, you will probably get more out of it. Your project should be an adventure, not merely a drill!

On the other hand your science project need not be in utterly unexplored areas; to be successful you need not come up with data and conclusions which will confound professional scientists who have spent their lives in similar work. You are a student and a hobbyist, not yet a professional research scientist. Primarily your project should advance your personal knowledge, and your abilities to observe, speculate, hypothesize, experiment, deduce, and conclude.

You should choose a project which you can expect to follow to a successful conclusion, but which is enough above your current knowledge to make you "stretch" your abilities.

But it is important not to bite off more than you can chew. The project should not demand so much time that you neglect other responsibilities. However, you need not pass up an interesting topic because covering all of it would consume too much time. Instead, zero in on just those aspects which interest you most.

Whenever you ask a question about some aspect of nature you have a possible project topic. "How does a chicken hatch?" "What is the best way to treat a burn?" "How could nuclear energy be used in space travel?" You need only examine the questions that occur to you every day to find dozens of topics on which to base projects.

You might identify promising topics by reviewing the table of contents in your science text, noting chapters or topics of particular interest. Or you may find it helpful to consult the references listed in the appendix to this booklet. If you are interested in a project related to atomic energy, the appendix lists also many nuclear topics and research areas.

At the outset, the exhibit possibilities of your chosen project may not be clearly apparent. You cannot predict exactly what procedures you will follow nor what conclusions you will draw. As you proceed, you will probably uncover many facts which you will want to tell people about. If you choose a good topic, work carefully and accurately, and cover the topic fully, you will produce a successful project which can form the basis for a good exhibit.

Where to Get Help

One mark of a truly educated individual is his willingness to discuss his problems with others and profit by their advice and help. One of the most important things that you can learn while doing a project is how and where to obtain information and assistance.

It is to be hoped that your topic is one on which some expert local counseling will be available--from your science teacher or one of your parents, your family physician or the local pharmacist, your agricultural extension agent, or scientific and engineering personnel of a nearby manufacturing plant, defense installation, research laboratory, or college.

Documenting Your Work

Project Notebook Every scientist worth his salt keeps detailed notes on each project on which he works. You should do likewise. This notebook, which could as well be a set of file cards, contains a running, day-by-day account of everything that concerns the project--observations, speculations, experiments, materials, expenses, procedures, data and observations, hypotheses, checks for validity, conclusions, and conjectures. From such notebooks comes the information for the scientist's formal report, or "paper", by which he advises his employers and colleagues of the progress of his work.

Since the notebook contains everything pertaining to your project, it may become disarranged, no matter how well you organize it in the beginning. If so, don't worry--just keep it up to date.

Project Report But there should be nothing haphazard about the final report on your project. In some science fairs, this report is displayed in the exhibit and considered in the judging. Even where not required, the project report belongs with your exhibit.

After writing your report you will find that much of your exhibit planning--and even some of the text which will appear in your exhibit--is already accomplished.

If you are doing your project as a classroom assignment, your teacher may specify the manner in which your report is to be organized. Otherwise, you can follow a format such as this:

Your project notebook and your formal project report are important components of your exhibit to follow. If both are completed first, you will find planning the rest of your exhibit a much simpler task.

EXHIBITING YOUR SCIENCE PROJECT

Planning the Content of Your Exhibit

Try to organize your exhibit content so that it will be meaningful to viewers who know less about it than you do. The following outline may be followed, but is not the only one possible. Don't be afraid to let the unusual aspects of your project influence the organization of its exhibit.

Title The same title you chose for your project report may be an acceptable exhibit title. It should be brief and as nontechnical as possible. A subtitle may explain or amplify the main title.

The Summary Message Give the viewer a capsule explanation of the project and its significance. You may use a simplified version of your abstract, eliminating information and language which is not meaningful to the average viewer. Keep it simple.

Hypotheses and Conclusions List these briefly in a manner understandable to the average viewer.

Method and Scope of Investigation Hit only the high points, but emphasize instances where you feel you displayed unusual imagination, ingenuity, or resourcefulness.

Observations and Data Both are important, but in an exhibit too many data can be dull. Select only those which are essential to the capsule story of your project.

Equipment and Specimens These also help narrate your story. Select objects and apparatus which will provide viewers a good grasp of your project work. Have you hit upon a low-cost substitute for expensive laboratory equipment? Do some of your specimens present clearly visible evidence of points you want to make? Are any of the experimental results or specimens particularly unusual, spectacular, or beautiful? List them for possible use.

Handout Brochure An important but frequently overlooked exhibit component is the "handout brochure" to be distributed to interested viewers. Even a single mimeographed page can supply more written information than should be displayed in the limited space of the exhibit. It can provide serious viewers a condensed version of the project report. The brochure provides all viewers a reference when they discuss the science fair and your exhibit with others. Consider the handout brochure while planning your exhibit's contents because it can contain data and graphs which might otherwise clutter and confuse your exhibit proper.

How Exhibits Are Judged

Rules for the judging of exhibits vary, but most science fairs stick fairly closely to the criteria and point values used by the National Science Fair-International, which are:

How much of the work appears to show originality of approach or handling? Judge that which appears to you to be original regardless of the expense of purchased or borrowed equipment. Give weight to ingenious uses of materials, if present. Consider collections creative if they seem to serve a purpose.

Does the exhibit disclose organized procedures? Is there a planned system, classification, accurate observation, or controlled experiment? Does exhibit show a verification of laws, or a cause and effect, or present by models or other methods a better understanding of scientific facts or theories? Give weight to probable amount of real study and effort which is represented in the exhibit. Guard against discounting for what might have been added, included, or improved.

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