~ Every good science fair project has 4 main components ~

• Poster Board or Digital Display

• Interview

• Scientific Journal

• Binder and Forms

  Click through these slides to see the parts of a project.

The display of your project is crucial because it lets judges know:

• What you did

• How you did it

• What the outcome was

Physical Projects – presented on a trifold cardboard or printed foamboard no larger than 30” wide, 48” deep and 108” tall.

Digital Projects – presented as a pdf of up to 15 slides.

Your presentation should be clear, easy to read, and pleasing to look at. Font size should be 20pt minimum (physical boards) or 14pt minimum (digital display). Use bullet points so that it is straightforward to read; include photos and illustrations of methods.

View Digital & Physical Projects

In-person interviews let you present your research, explain your findings, and share your passion for science in a unique way. Interviews are required for High School and optional but recommended for Elementary and Middle School grades.

How to Ace Your Interview:

• Dress the part! - Wear nice blouse or collared shirt, slacks, skirt, or dress

• Know Your Project - Be prepared to explain your board in detail. Remember, the judges have never seen your research!

• Be Passionate – This is your time to show how passionate you are about your research.

• Be Confident – it’s okay if you don’t know the answer, but speak confidently, maintain good eye contact, and use gestures to explain your board.

View Potential Interview Questions

View Interview Scorecards

The journal is like your project diary. It is a window into all of your hard work. Journal pages should show your process from start to finish. Ideas for journal entries:

• Ideas brainstorm page

• Variations of your research question and hypothesis (draft ideas)

• Background Research – bullet points of facts you gather.

• Drafts of materials and methods you plan to use.

• Raw data from your tests

• Sketches of experiment setup

• Explanations of how you adapted and overcame unexpected issues in your design and testing process

View Sample Journal Pages

The Research binder is an optional way to display additional project materials if your project requires them. It should be a 3-ring binder with entries stored in plastic sheet protectors. Research binders often include:

• SRC Form for Safety.

• Human Subject Consent Forms.

• Raw Data - copies of paper surveys or tests given to subjects.

• Complete Bibliography of all resources used (may be annotated or include printed copies of the websites and research articles used).

• Additional photos of research.

• Additional graphs of data.

• Lab Report of the research project.