Science Fair

We usually host our science fair in February, but this year I got behind on the preplanning stages and the thought of trying to make it happen in February quite literally brought me to tears. I ended up deciding that if I felt like it would cause significant stress and struggle - it wasn't worth pushing for it just because that's what we usually do. People were understanding and supportive when I canceled the science fair with the hope of being able to reschedule later in the spring. When we canceled, I wasn't sure that we would even be able to reschedule - but everything fell into place once I had a little more time and breathing room. We held the science fair kickoff and the science fair in the Kimber Acedemy building and the whole thing was a success. 

Science Fair Kickoff - March 25, 2023
We did a rotation for each of the steps of the scientific method. Question, Hypothesis, Experiment, Data, Conclusion. Each rotation had a small lesson about why that step was important and a small activity for the kids to do together. Then we came back together at the end for a group discussion to get the kids excited about doing their own science project. 

(note: next year I want to have one single science project and break into as many groups as we need but do one project from start to finish)

Prepping for Science Fair/ Projects
The kids did some great projects this year and I felt really satisfied with the amount of effort and the total experience. I am going to write a blog post for each science project with more details and pictures, but wanted to do an overview here. 

Caleb - Mrs. Peters Birthday Cake 

Caleb was unconvinced that Austin's previous science experiment truly replicated the book's instructions and wanted to try again. I loved this science project the first time so I was happy to do it again with Caleb. 

Austin - Popcorn Volume 

Austin was excited to test different cooking methods of popcorn to see if it affected the volume of popcorn. This was sparked because I've been making popcorn in the microwave in a brown paper sack lately and then once I made it on the stovetop for the kids. We noticed the texture was a little different and decided that volume would be the best variable to test. We ate a lot of popcorn this week. 

Lydia - Density of Liquids

Lydia really struggled to nail down a science experiment she wanted to do. She has such big ideas and I wasn't sure we could make some of her more extravagant thoughts happen, however, it was important to her that she not already know the answer to the question - she wanted to really discover the answer. Finally, I decided to present her with a science fair challenge where she had three practice attempts exploring the density of different liquids and then had to try to create a rainbow of liquid using their density as separation. 

Science Fair - April 22, 2023
The kids did great on their presentations and we had a great turnout. I love my kids having this experience and think it's such a valuable part of their education so I am thrilled that it came together this year. I had enough time/energy to print all of the materials for the day - but the real magic is when everyone shows up and shares the things that they have been working on. 

I had four judges come and I split the projects into two rooms, two judges per room. The only thing that I think I will change from here on out is the way that medals are awarded. When I first started doing the science fair I read a bunch of articles and blog posts about "How to host a science fair!" One of the things that was repeatedly mentioned was the importance of having a science fair winner. There were lots of different ways that you could determine that winner, and we ultimately decided to take a popular vote. We were a small group and my judges didn't feel confident in their ability to pick winners. It worked fine, but with each passing year it's felt more like a popularity contest than people judging for the best projects. I would like to change next year to have a gold silver broze for popular vote and a gold silver bronze "Judges Choice".  I've felt it was important to have outside feedback for the projects and have consistently had judges fill out rubrics for the projects and it makes sense to have them pick their top 3. I wish I would have implemented that this year, but I didn't and it's okay - we keep learning and adjusting as we do. 




Austin and Caleb both won medals in their age group; 

Austin 2nd Place Silver  (9+)
Caleb 3rd Place Bronze (8 and Under) 

I can not express the level of relief when the science fair was over and everything had gone relatively smoothly. It was a push to make the science fair happen this year, but we rode it out and it all came together. On the way home we stopped at Arctic Circle for Ice Cream which turned into ice cream and a massive amount of french friends. The kids played on the playground while I sipped a soda and listened to my audio book on headphones and took deep breaths. We stayed for a long time and it felt so good.