Come To A Science Fair

Introduction

As defined by the Environmental Education Teacher Resource Handbook special projects in environmental education are hands-on activities and experiences centering on an environmental topic, theme, or issue. Special projects can be used to enhance an existing unit, to introduce a new topic, or to add more hands-on learning opportunities in the classroom.

Benefits of Special Projects

They offer parents and other members of the community an opportunity to get involved in the project since students will often need to get information outside the classroom.

Students can become involved in projects that benefit the community which may encourage participation in other community events.

Development of Special Projects

Some special projects have already been developed by various organizations. See examples of special projects which have already been developed. Some teachers work with their students to create a special project or a project idea comes from a spontaneous discussion between teacher and students. Whether the idea comes from a recognized source such as the U.S. Department of Energy or from a 7^th grade technology education course students will be doing the majority of the planning and work for the project while the teachers acts as a facilitator or guide (Wilke; 1993). Special projects are not limited to classrooms they can be used by extra-curricular student groups, whole schools, or specific grade levels.

Classroom Ideas

Solar Olympics
The Solar Olympics is a special project run by Wisconsin Public Service Corporation for high school students in the spring. Students from each school are led by a teacher or advisor. There is no limit of the number of students who can participate in the planning for the competition but only ten students are invited to the event. The team in first place wins medals and a trophy. Second and third place teams receive trophies.

Categories of Solar Olympic Competitions are separated into Supernova and Sunspot events. Supernova events, which are worth 100 points, include solar cookers, solar water heaters, solar cars, solar marketing campaigns, solar sculpture, and solar jeopardy game. Sunspot events, worth 50 points, include Solar Olympics T-shirt design, solar building design, solar essay, and solar photography. Students work as groups or individually to compete to win not only their individual categories but to add point to their team score.

Solar Olympics has activities for students who excel in different subject areas. For example a student who is artistically talented can compete in the solar sculpture portion of the competition. A student who is more technically inclined can work with a group to design a solar hot water heater or a solar oven. The goal of the Solar Olympics is to give high school students hands-on experiences with renewable energy (www.wpsr.com/community/olympics.asp).

The Solar Olympic program is currently available to school that participate in the Solarwise for Schools Program which is administered by Wisconsin Public Service Corporation. KEEP is working on developing Solar Olympics programs in other regions of the state. 

Junior Solar Sprint
There are many different Junior Solar Sprint programs. There is a national Junior Solar Sprint Competition run by the United States Department of Energy for grades six through seven. Students use skills learned in their studies to build, design and race a small solar powered car. Students can race the cars against other students in their school or in an organized event with students competing against other student in a region.

The goals of the Junior Solar Sprint are to

• Encourage enthusiasm for science and math at a stage where young people have a tendency to become discouraged with these subjects
• Improve knowledge of renewable energy and science concepts
• Show students possibilities of technical careers

Many of the cars are built with kits that can be bought through retail suppliers and range from $3.00 to $50.00 depending on the supplies needed. To cut costs and teach a valuable lesson on recycling, encourage students to use materials they find around the classroom and their homes. You can provide students with a budget to work with and they can �buy� materials from the instructor. This not only challenges their creativity but will teach them a lesson in budgeting.

For more information on this competition visit the National Junior Solar Sprint program at www.nrel.gov/education/student/natjss.html.

Envirothon
The Canon Envirothon is North America's largest high school environmental competition. The mission is to develop knowledgeable, skilled and dedicated citizens who are willing and prepared to work towards achieving and maintaining a natural balance between the quality of life and the quality of the environment. This mission is achieved by providing teachers and students with curriculum materials and hands-on activities and by holding an annual competition for high school students in the United States and Canada.

The location for the event is given in the spring. Teachers and students spend the months before the competition getting ready for the competition by studying the five topics covered by the tests.

The competition is held at a different location every year for five days in the summer. Students are given one day to familiarize themselves with the competition site. The competition consists of five testing stations and an oral examination section which are judged by experts in the field. The five testing stations test (1) soils/land use, (2) aquatic ecology, (3) forestry, (4) wildlife, and (5) current environmental issue. Each testing station consists of a 45 - 60 minute written test. Test scores are evaluated and compiled to determine the winners.

For more information about the Envirothon or to find out about the Envirothon in Wisconsin visit envirothon.org/about/index.htm and click on state & provincial programs. 

Other Ideas

Special projects to gather data - discuss renewable energy sources and the areas that are suitable for these technologies (examples: how does geothermal energy differ in Wisconsin from the state of Washington and what areas of Wisconsin are suitable for wind energy?). Find out what technologies would be suitable for your school by testing the solar energy, wind energy, and geothermal possibilities at your school. You can accomplish this by selecting sites on the school grounds and testing which renewable energy technology would be best suited for the site or if the area is not well suited for renewable energy technologies what else can the students do to have an impact on their energy usage. This data can be collected over the years to track trends and develop hypothesis at the beginning of the year on what will happen in the years to come.

Renewable energy boat races - If your school is located near a body of water challenge students to create and design boat using renewable energy concepts. Boat can incorporate different kinds of renewable energy technologies such as solar panels and/or old fashioned wind energy used by sailors.

Support Materials

Websites

ScienzFair Projects
This website has a variety of ideas for special projects most of which are science related. The ideas are just that, ideas for students to develop further according to the requirements for class. Students from a variety of grades, including some younger grades, will be able to complete the projects!
cybersleuth-kids.com/sleuth/Science/Science_Fair/Project_Ideas/index1.htm
www.gecdsb.on.ca/d&g/mar01/web3.htm

The Ultimate Science Fair Resource
Are you wondering more about how to go about completing a science fair project? Looking for more ideas or hints? This is the site to visit!
www.scifair.org/

Science Fair Homepage
This site has separated project ideas into different grade levels. Primary project ideas are for grades 1-4, elementary projects for grades 4-6, intermediate projects for grades 7-9, and senior projects for grades 10-12.
www.stemnet.nf.ca/sciencefairs/

Super Science Fair Support Center
Visit this site for projects ideas, examples, information, books, kits and books.
www.science-project.com/

Kitchen Scientists - A guide to Home Science Experiments
Home science experiments that foster creativity and new ideas.
www.gourmetgiftbaskets.com/kitchen-scientists-home-experiments.asp

Other Resources

Wilke, R. (Ed). 1997. Environmental Education Teacher Resource Handbook: A practical guide for K-12 environmental education. Sage Publications. ISBN: 080396370X

National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Science Projects in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. Distributed by National Energy Foundation: www.nef1.org.

Assessment

Special Projects are an excellent assessment tool for a unit. Once a unit has been taught the students should be able to use the information from the unit to complete a variety of projects. These projects can be from the mind of the teacher or the students themselves. The project should demonstrate the students' knowledge of the unit materials.

Relevant Academic Standards

Technology Education C.12.6: Design and/or create solutions that are functional, aesthetically pleasing, demonstrate quality, have greater value than the investment, and meet a societal need or want.

Language Arts F.12.1: Conduct research and inquiry on self-selected or assigned topics, issues, or problems and use appropriate form to communicate their findings.

Mathematics A.12.5 Organize work and present mathematical procedures and results clearly, systematically, succinctly, and correctly

Social Studies E.12.15 Identify the skills needed to work effectively alone, in groups, and in institutions

Agriculture Education C.12.2 Develop leadership skills in club, classroom, or organization settings

Environmental Education A.12.1: Identify questions that require skilled investigations to solve current problems cited in literature, media, or observed through personal observations.