Science Buddies: Free Teacher and Student Resources for Science Projects and

Independent Student Research www.sciencebuddies.org

Ken Hess, Founder & PresidentPresented at Intel ISEF 2011, Los Angeles, California

The Headline

• Science Buddies (www.sciencebuddies.org) is comprehensive, high quality, and free.

Comprehensive

• Users: We have resources for fair administrators, teachers, parents, and students.

• Grade levels: K-12• Levels of difficulty: From elementary classroom fair

projects to Intel ISEF.• Project areas: All areas of science.• Scientific method: From the initial question to the

final presentation.

High Quality• Staff scientists with experience in both academic and

corporate research• Top flight partners: Princeton, NOAA, WGBH, and many more• Award winning: AAAS/Science, Parents Choice, . . .• We answer our email, so you can give us feedback and know

that someone read it:– scibuddy@sciencebuddies.org– Ask an Expert Forum– “Report a problem with this page”– “I did this project”

• No cheesy advertising to distract students • Constant improvement of our materials

Free

• 501(c)3 non-profit• PBS funding model: concerned corporations, private

foundations, and individuals

Today’s Presentation

• How to choose the proper resources for your needs• Overview of resources

– Managing science projects in the classroom– Planning a science fair– Enlisting parents– Project Guide (how to do a science project)– Engineering Design Project Guide (how to do engr. project)– Advanced Project Guide (how to do independent research)– Project Ideas & the Topic Selection Wizard – Personalized answers to student questions– Career profiles

The Home Page

How to Choose the Proper Resources

Ask: What are my students’ needs & my teaching objectives?• Detailed Guidance: Step-by-step instructions to help students

understand the scientific method and complete a successful, fun, and academically challenging science fair project.

• Moderate Help: Assistance choosing an engaging age- and resource-appropriate science fair project, but I'd like students to independently figure out their experimental procedure from scratch.

• Independent Exploration: Checklists and reminders about how to create a well-controlled scientific experiment, but I'd like students to independently select a science fair topic and figure out the appropriate experimental procedure.

• Original Research: Advanced high school students working on original, publishable research.

Key to Resources for Different Student Needs/Teacher Objectives

Managing Science Projects in the Classroom

• Teacher's Guide to Science Projects • Benefits of a Science Project• Teacher Timeline• Safety Guidelines• Student Science Project Schedule• A Parent Guide to Science Projects• Printable Assignment Worksheets

• Printable copies of Project Guide webpages

• Grading Rubrics

Planning a Science Fair

• A Guide to Planning a Science Fair • Step-by-step guide loaded with tools, tips, and tricks • Judging Guide • Judging Scorecard • Judging Scorecard: Basic • Judging Scorecard: Elementary • Project Tracking Spreadsheet Sample (.xls)• Science Fair Award Certificate Sample (.doc)

• Science Fair Schedule Worksheet

• Science Project Enrichment Tools

Enlisting Parents

• A parents role in science education• Why are science fairs important?• How to help with a project• Explaining plagiarism to your child• Online Safety (sponsored by Symantec)

• ikeepsafe.org! • Family Online Safety Guide

• Parent newsletter

Finding a Project Idea: The Topic Selection Wizard

Topic Selection Wizard

• Finding an interesting project is a tough problem– Lack of experience is a barrier for students– Can’t select an an area unless they are aware of it – you

can’t dream about something if you don’t know it exists– Teacher can’t know every student’s interests

• The Wizard examines student responses against hundreds of thousands that came before them

• Personalized suggestions to each student• An easy to use, high quality solution

Topic Selection Wizard: Sample Questions

• Do you ever wonder what makes some recipes turn out delicious and others turn out disgusting?

• Do you enjoy gardening and working with plants?• Is math your favorite subject in school?• Do you like animals more than machines?• About 25 questions, total.

Topic Selection Wizard: Testimonial• “My daughter is totally into stuffed animals, loves our

pets, and loves the Sierra Nevada camp with its bugs, birds & snakes, and where my wife is director.”

• “I completely expected her to do an animal project and was prepared to talk about ethics and animal-use protocols.”

• “Well, as she went through the [Wizard] questions, what we discovered is that she's deeply interested in electricity, devices, and math-oriented topics. What?!”

• “This was a real gift to all of us, as who knows what damage we parents could have done by acting on our assumptions?”

High-quality Project Ideas

• Full Project Ideas include:– Abstract & Introduction provide background – Terms, Concepts & Questions to Start Background

Research– Bibliography– Materials & Equipment– Experimental Procedure– Variations, approx. 3 – 5 suggestions for related projects

• Abbreviated Project Ideas include:– Typically, just an abstract

The Comprehensive Range of Project Ideas• Aerodynamics & Hydrodynamics• Astronomy• Biotechnology• Chemistry• Civil Engineering• Computer Science• Cooking & Food Science• Electricity & Electronics• Energy & Power• Environmental Engineering• Environmental Science• Genetics & Genomics• Geology• Human Behavior• Human Biology & Health• Mammalian Biology

• Materials Science• Mechanical Engineering• Microbiology• Music• Ocean Sciences• Photography, Digital Photography &

Video• Physics • Plant Biology• Pure Mathematics• Sociology • Sports Science• Video & Computer Games • Weather & Atmosphere • Zoology

Project Guide: Comprehensive, High-quality “how-to”

• How to Do a Science Fair Project– Covers everything from hypothesis & variables to display boards– Lots of material on background research & report writing

• How to Do an Engineering Design Project• Tools, Techniques, and Reference Information

– Focus on information not available elsewhere in age appropriate form

– How to Build a Subsonic Wind Tunnel– Using Storytelling Alice– Electronics Primer (hands on techniques)– All About Agar– Measuring Plant Growth– Sample Size: How Many Survey Participants Do I Need?– And much more . . .

Advanced Project Guide (sponsored by Intel)Comprehensive, High-quality “advanced how-to”

• Overview– Benefits of Top Science Competitions– Roadmap: How to Get Started– How to Find a Mentor– Mentoring & Coaching Advanced HS Student Research

• Finding Ideas– Roundtable on Finding an Idea for an Advanced Project– Sample Projects from Advanced Competitions– How to Read a Scientific Paper

• And, more– Experimental Design for Advanced Science Projects – Increasing the Ability of an Experiment to Measure an Effect– Data Presentation Tips for Advanced Science Competitions

Increasing the Ability to Measure an EffectTechnique What Is It? When Is It

Helpful?Examples

Making repeated measurements of one item

Increasing sample size

Randomizing samples

Randomizing experiments

Repeating experiments

Including covariates

Ask an Expert

• Answers to any & all science fair questions– Questions about one of our Project Ideas– Questions about a student’s own idea– Questions about STEM careers– Occasionally turns into a mentoring relationship

• Typically, 24 hours or less turn around• Staffed by volunteer science and engineering

professionals

Comprehensive STEM Career Information

• Funded by the Noyce Foundation, now includes 150 career profiles

• Forges a connection between science in the classroom and careers in science

• Relevant careers tied to each Project Idea• Engage the students by using various forms of media

to present high-quality career information• What does each professional do; the nature of the work• Subjects to study in high school, educational requirements• Salaries and projected job growth• Work environment• Interviews

STEM Careers: Range of Degrees The career profiles introduce students to a comprehensive variety of career options possible in different areas of science.

HS 1-2yr 4yr 4-6yr 6+ 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Minimum Degree Requirements

Years of Study

STEM Careers: Range of Salaries

Similarly, the career profiles highlight careers with a comprehensive range of salary levels.

STEM Careers: Engaging Visual Introductions

Develop a synthetic fiber that can stop a speeding bullet.

Help discover new medicines that alleviate or cure diseases.

Figure out how to make hair-styling gel work even better.

New Engineering Materials

• New Comprehensive Engineering Design Project Guide

• Judging Score Cards for engineering projects• Coming soon:

– Engineering Design Process Poster– Grading Rubrics– Comparing engineering & artistic

design

Science Buddies: www.sciencebuddies.org

• Science Buddies is comprehensive, high quality, and free.

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