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1. Inspiration

One small spark...

Welcome to MY PROJECT. These 6 sections will help guide you through making a project all the way to your school fair and hopefully beyond. You will also find the main times and dates in our timeline on the front page. Note: You may work on your own or with a partner. No more than two students can work on any project. Teachers might like to use or adapt this power point overview of the science fair.
  1. INSPIRATION - The first step is having an idea about what you want to investigate. Work your way down this page and see if inspiration strikes. Instead of trying to find something interesting in itself (although that's great if you do), try to find the interesting in the ordinary. 
  2. PLANNING - Information overload, so take it easy and take one step at a time. Making a plan saves time and takes most of the stress away. It's like if you go on a long journey it's a good idea to take a map. 
  3. PRACTICAL - This is all about the process of science and technology so you end up with something that is worthwhile. You might have heard your teacher talk about what makes something a "fair test." Practical means a test that you do yourself, not just reading about it on the internet.
  4. PRESENTATION - All the technicalities of taking your work and presenting it to the judges, other students, and parents. 
  5. FAIR DAY - When and where to turn up, what to bring, and a bunch of other details about the big event. 
  6. PRIZEGIVING - Same kind of information as for Fair Day, except instead of a chat with judges you get to chat with sponsors and get prizes!

Inspiration is everywhere

Bring the Dream to Life

Choose a Project
The first step is having an idea. Get an idea of what you want to investigate. Your ideas might come from your hobbies, or something you learned at school, or from something you may have seen in the media. Can you find a previous project that you think you can improve on with better results and better Science? Try to avoid consumer testing type projects and try to choose something unique. Make a list of possible topics and choose the one that you like the best.

Science projects study the world to find out something new. Is there a question that you can answer by doing a test or making observations?

Technology projects put things together with a purpose. Can you put something together from things that already exist to make life better?
 
Don't Procrastinate
Sometimes people don’t write because they are afraid to write, not because they don’t have something to write about. Don’t put off sitting down and reading something or writing something. What if you don't have something to write about? Here's the plan: 

1. Getting ideas – try reading. Because either you’ll get interested in a topic you don’t know anything about (what makes the sky blue?) or learn science related to something you do already, eg. a sport you play.  

2. Take action – sports teams have training times. Set time for Science and do it!

What will you make better?

Research the Topic
Gather information on the topic from many sources including: libraries, companies, experts, the media, the Internet, or even pictures of past projects in our website gallery. Establish contacts to assist you and critique your work. These may be family friends, experts from educational or scientific institutions or may be someone from the local chemist, garden etc.
There are three age groups: Year 7-8, Year 9-10, Seniors Year 11-13

Can’t decide which category your project fits into?
Check with your teacher first, and they should be able to help . Sometimes it is difficult to know which category it should be in, as it seems to fit well into two. You should make your decision, place in that category and then check with the judges when you bring it into the Fair. 

Categories for Juniors
Y7-8 and Y9-10

Two in One - Astronomy and Space related projects are usually judged by Stardome Observatory as a separate category to Earth Science projects.  

The Planet Earth and Beyond Strand is about the interconnecting systems and processes of the Earth, the other parts of the solar system, and the universe beyond. Students learn that Earth’s subsystems of geosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), atmosphere (air), and biosphere (life) are interdependent and that all are important. They come to appreciate that humans can affect this interdependence in both positive and negative ways.
Students also learn that Earth provides all the resources required to sustain life except energy from the Sun, and that, as humans, we act as guardians of these finite resources. This means knowing and understanding the numerous interactions of Earth’s four subsystems with the solar system. Students can then confront the issues facing our planet and make informed decisions about the protection and wise use of Earth’s resources.
Stream environment surveys go in this category.

The Physical World Strand provides explanations for a wide range of physical phenomena, including light, sound, heat, electricity, magnetism, waves, forces, and motion, united by the concept of energy, which is transformed from one form to another without loss. By studying physics, students gain an understanding of interactions between parts of the physical world and of the ways in which they can be represented. Knowing about physics enables people to understand a wide range of contemporary issues and challenges and potential technological solutions.

The Material World Strand involves the study of matter and the changes it undergoes. In their study of chemistry, students develop understandings of the composition and properties of matter, the changes it undergoes, and the energy involved. They use their understanding of the fundamental properties of chemistry to make sense of the world around them. They learn to interpret their observations by considering the properties and behaviour of atoms, molecules, and ions. They learn to communicate their understandings, using the symbols and conventions of chemistry. Using their knowledge of chemistry, they are better able to understand science-related challenges, such as environmental sustainability and the development of new materials, pharmaceuticals, and sources of energy.
Generally pH, oxidation, and acid testing on apples, teeth and the mouth go here, not Living World.

The Living World Strand is about living things and how they interact with each other and the environment. Students develop an understanding of the diversity of life and life processes, of where and how life has evolved, of evolution as the link between life processes and ecology, and of the impact of humans on all forms of life. As a result, they are able to make more informed decisions about significant biological issues. The emphasis is on the biology of New Zealand, including the sustainability of New Zealand’s unique fauna and flora and distinctive ecosystems.
Please refer to the downloads page for animal welfare and micro-organisms information.  

Human Biology  now includes projects involving humans in either a biology sense (eg. changing heartrate)  or psychology sense (eg. perception). Note, a subject preference test is not, by itself, relevant to science. Preference tests can be used as part of a technology project, eg. baking the best cookies.

The three strands in technology are:
The Knowledge Strand - functional modelling, prototyping, materials
The Practice Strand - find solutions to identified needs and/or realise opportunities
The Nature of Technology Strand - engage in informed debate about contentious issues and increase their understanding of the complex moral and ethical aspects that surround technology and technological developments. Examine the fitness for purpose of earlier technological outcomes and make informed predictions about future technological directions at a societal and personal level.

Food Science New category from 2021, these projects involve the making and or tasting of food and food substitutes.

Research Only Category Sometimes a project comes through without any real world testing done by the student. A research only project will still seek to calculate new numbers from known data and interact (agree/disagree) with information on the topic from a diverse number of sources. This is not just a compilation of interesting facts. Limited to one per school.

Categories for Seniors

Senior students get automatic entry to the Fair and are not part of the total entries per school limitation. The school still needs to register and make sure the students are entered. 

Students in years 11–13 are able to specialise in one or more science disciplines, depending on the choices offered in their schools. The achievement objectives in the context strands provide for strand-based specialisations, but a wider range of programmes is possible; for example, schools may offer programmes in biochemistry, education for sustainability, agriculture, horticulture, human biology, or electronics.
Note: You may work on your own or with a partner. No more than two students can work on any project.

Senior students get automatic entry to the Fair and are not part of the total entries per school limitation. The school still needs to register and make sure the students are entered.

The three strands in technology are:
The Knowledge Strand - functional modelling, prototyping, materials
The Practice Strand  - find solutions to identified needs and/or realise opportunities
The Nature of Technology Strand - engage in informed debate about contentious issues and increase their understanding of the complex moral and ethical aspects that surround technology and technological developments. Examine the fitness for purpose of earlier technological outcomes and make informed predictions about future technological directions at a societal and personal level.
Note: You may work on your own or with a partner. No more than two students can work on any project.

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What will you try?

Organise the Information and Your Time
Refine your idea so that you define an achievable project. Set deadline dates for each step of your project. Check with your teacher for the date your project is due and any other deadlines relevant to your work. A Log Book of your project is required, so put all your ideas, pictures and everything you do into a word processor document. Everything including your final project write-up goes into the document and will be emailed or shared with your teacher. It can be proofed by your teacher before it is printed. At the end of your project it's a great relief to be able to just hit the print button and have it all finished already without any worries.

Timetable
Term 1 - Science Skills, Fair Testing, Idea Research 
Term 2 - Complete project! (Doesn’t that sound easy?) 
Term 3 - Week 1 - Projects due for school fair! 
Term 3 - Week 2 - Judging! 
Term 3 - Week 3 - Time for finalists to prepare, revise and complete project refinements 
Term 3 - Week 6 - The Auckland Fair!
Also see the main Fair Timeline

Everyone has a question

Projects to Avoid
  • Plants under coloured plastic – everybody does it, try to be unique
  • Growing mould on bread – ewww. At the very least take pictures, don’t attach real mouldy bread to your project. 
  • All the different soft drinks – usually ends up being product testing. How will your project stand out? 
  • Only product testing things that are not similar at all, like testing vacuum cleaners. You need to make sure it’s a fair test. Change one thing! Measure one thing! Keep everything else the same! Can you make a graph from the data you record? If you are product testing then maybe make that part of the project just a pre-test to discover the one product you want to experiment with (like changing the nozzle shape on the same device).  
  • Psychological testing issues – can the results be turned into numbers for a graph? You need a way to turn results into numbers so they can be analysed. This is why survey's typically include questions like "On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is awesome and 1 is yuck, how do you rate such and such?" If one just asked "what do you feel about such and such?" it would be much harder to compare the results.
Where does it Lead?
Firstly, there are lots of prizes! Some include things like money, books, equipment, and some are day trips with real scientists and engineers out in the world. Secondly, it can lead to entry into other science fairs like Realise the Dream and the Crest Awards (automatic entry with good projects). Thirdly, they help you become a better researcher for whatever you do in the future. Most of all, the Science Fair is a lot of work but a lot of fun too. Learning things is cool, and helping others learn from your project is even better!

WHAT GREAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

“I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

“We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.”

“I have found there is a wonderful harmony in the complementary truths of science and faith. The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. God can be found in the cathedral or in the laboratory. By investigating God’s majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship.”

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