Audubon elementary Science Fair
“Showcase your science, share your ideas, and shine with awards”
Participants will complete projects at home and present them on tri‑fold poster boards during the Science Fair. They will share their work with students, judges, and visitors.
Judges will evaluate projects in three categories within each grade level. The highest‑rated project in each category will receive an award.
Students will have the opportunity of voting for the “Most Fun” experiment, giving everyone a chance to recognize creativity and excitement.
All students who participate OR vote will have the chance to enter into a raffle for the chance to win amazing prizes.
Registration is open through February 27th!
✨ Maximum of 70 participants due to space limitations. First Come, First Served, so register as fast as you can!
Science Fair Guidelines
📌 Project Preparation
Final display boards must be turned in the morning of the event day on Thursday, March 12th. We’ll collect them from classrooms.
If you’re using a model or working experiment, bring it with you to the Science Fair.
General Project Tips
- Start early — this is a home‑based project, so give yourself plenty of time.
- Pick a topic that excites you! Use your imagination to explore something you’re curious about.
- Examples of creative projects:
- Models
- Toymaker‑style toys
- Robots
- Simple machines
- Circuits
- Terrariums
- Instruments
- Patterns
- Even a sandwich — if it helps answer a scientific question!
- Your project should be displayed on a tri‑fold board and may include a model or experiment.
- We recommend using three‑sided display boards (available at Target, Dollar Tree, Ben Franklin, Fred Meyer). Poster boards are fine too, as long as they can stand on their own.
- Every board must clearly show your name, grade, teacher's name, and project title.
- The physical project display should fit within a 3 ft. wide by 1.25 ft. deep area.
- 🚫 No liquids allowed on the final day. If your experiment needs liquids, do it at home and show pictures or a video instead.
Projects That Don’t Qualify ❌
- Anything built from packaged instructions
- Projects involving liquids, flammables, or hazardous materials
- Catapults or weapons of any kind
Key Design Principles
A successful science fair booth effectively communicates your project's story with a logical layout, large text, and visually engaging elements:
- Follow a Logical Flow: Arrange information to guide the viewer's eye, typically from top to bottom and left to right.
- Prioritize Readability: Use a medium font size for body text and much larger for the title.
- Be Visually Appealing: Use a consistent color scheme (aim for 3 bright, complementary colors) and frame information using colored paper to make sections stand out. Avoid busy backgrounds and glossy paper, which can be difficult to read.
- Integrate Visuals and Text: Balance text with relevant high-quality images, graphs, and diagrams. A picture or video can be highly effective at engaging attendees.
- Include a Strong Title: Make your title powerful and eye-catching to grab visitors' attention.
- Keep it Concise: The board is a summary, not a full report. Include enough information to tell your project's story, but avoid overwhelming the viewer with too much text.
Essential Content Sections
A standard tri-fold display board (typically 36" tall by 48" wide) is a common choice and should include the following sections:
- Title: Simple, clear, and easy to remember, placed prominently at the top of the center panel.
- Introduction/Why: Explain the inspiration and background research that led to the project.
- Hypothesis/Question: State the question you sought to answer or your hypothesis.
- Methods/How: Describe the important steps of your experiment, focusing on visuals.
- Results/What: Present your findings using well-labeled graphs, tables, or figures with short captions.
- Conclusion/So What: Sum up the importance of your results, their potential impact, and learnings from the experiment.
🌟 Science Fair Day
- Fair Day Morning - Turn In Tri-fold: Bring your tri-fold (no models/experiments) with you to school/classroom. We will collect them from your classroom.
- 5:00–6:00 PM - Set‑Up Time: Come between 5:00–6:00 PM to set up your project in the Audubon Elementary Gym.
- Find Your Table: Look for the section marked with your grade level. Spaces will be assigned randomly, so just find your spot and get ready!
- 6:00–8:00 PM - Fair Hours: The Science Fair runs from 6:00–8:00 PM. Please keep your project on display until at least 7:00 PM.
- Handle With Care: If your project is delicate or you’d prefer people not touch it, add a bold sign that says “Do Not Touch.”
- Show & Share: During the fair, you’ll present your project to students, judges, and visitors. Be prepared to explain your process, answer questions, and demonstrate any working models.
- Stay With Your Project: Plan to stay at your table for most of the fair, with a short break to explore other projects.
- 8:00–8:15 PM Wrap‑Up & Clean Up: At 8:00 PM, please take your project home and tidy up your table space. We’d greatly appreciate your help in gathering all trash, folding the tables, and ensuring the Gym is left clean.
🏆 Judging & voting
- 6:00–7:00 PM - Judging Time: Judges will assess projects from 6:00–7:00 PM.
- Each project will be evaluated in three categories for every grade level:
- Best Visual
- Best Experiment
- Most Creative
- 6:00–7:00 PM - Students Voting Time: From 6:00–7:00 PM students attending the fair will also have the opportunity to vote for the “Most Fun” experiment. This will give them the chance to enter the raffle and win amazing prizes.
- All winners will be revealed during the Awards Ceremony!
🎉 Awards
- 7:15–7:45 PM - Awards Ceremony: The Awards Ceremony kicks off at 7:15 PM.
- Every fair participant will receive a Participation Award to celebrate their hard work and dedication. The top projects in each category will also earn special awards.
- 7:45–8:00 PM - Raffle drawn: Fair participants and students voting will get a ticket to enter the raffle. Raffle winners will be selected from a pool of raffle tickets through a random drawing.
✅ Quick Help List
- Check the Library for books and references
- Brainstorm with Family or Friends for ideas
- Use Trusted Online Sources for research
