3 Brothers, 2 Junkers, and 1 Amazing Prize

This week I'm going to shake things up a little, and instead of lecturing you, I'm going to tell a story about one of my life changing experiences because of science fairs.

My freshman year, I competed in the Discovery Young Scientist Challenge (DYSC). I was one of 50 middle school science fair competitors who traveled to Washington, D.C. to compete for three top prizes and a myriad of smaller prizes. The competition itself was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but that is not the story I'd like to tell today. This is the story of the Techno Challenge prize from The Learning Channel (TLC).

I won the Techno Challenge prize for technical innovation - this was for my 8th grade project where I built a five foot "Tower of Terror" like free-fall device, and a car with different weights and a "weightless sensor" controlled by a simple electric circuit. You may or not remember a TLC TV series that was popular in the late 90s and early 2000's - Junkyard Wars. This show is about two teams who compete to create a machine that completes a specified task, built completely from items found in a junkyard. The prize I won was to travel to Pittsburgh, PA to the Carnegie Science Center to build two cars with the Long Brothers - the then national and international Junkyard Wars champions. Suffice it to say, the boys I competed with were quite jealous that I won.

I spent a long weekend in PA building a dune buggy and a dragster - bending pipes, welding, and altogether having a blast. The Long brothers even tried to teach me how to drive a standard car when one of the junkers needed to be moved (all under parental supervision and in a closed lot of course!). One of my best memories was using an acetylene torch to cut the the gear shift out of one of the cars. Well, the heavy safety gloves they gave me were a little too big. The extra fabric in the thumb hit the gas control, my torch slowly shifted from an excellent cutting flame to an amazing bonfire torch, and I lit the car carpeting into a minor fire. It was very small, and very easily put out, but it was thrilling. I learned the proper way to use an acetylene torch and welding equipment - how many 13 year old girls can say that? The absolute best part was watching the car I helped build drive down the street. That weekend is what made me want to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. All because of a science fair prize, I discovered what I wanted to reach for as a career.

My Small Fire

Finding a Topic, Part Two

So you're still trying to find that perfect topic for your science fair project? Take a deep breath and relax, here are three more tips to get you started.

1. Take Notes

Keep a notebook with you, either in your backpack or carry it with you around the house.  When inspiration strikes, and I promise you that it will during the day, write down the question or topic that came to you.  Use the rules of brainstorming, don't criticize any idea or try to think in too much detail, just write the ideas down as they come.  Later, when you have a list of a few days or week's worth of inspirations, sit down and objectively go through the list.  Which ones would you like to explore further?  Which can you already think of a way to test?

2. Research

When you have a few ideas, or even if you have no concrete ideas but a general topic you are interested in, perform some research to help you find a topic.  Check out a book at the library, or contact a scientist or company that specializes in something you are interested in.  Even if you read a general article such as on Wikipedia or in a general magazine, you will come up with a project topic, and already begin familiarizing yourself with the topic more.

3. Ask for Help

Talk to your teacher or parents for a science fair topic they always wanted to do and never did, or browse a book that offers thousands of experiment ideas.  You will still need to expand on one of these experiment ideas, for most of the "Science Fair Topics Made Easy" sources are enough for a topic, but not enough for a more than passing project. 

Remember, any topic can be a great science fair project, you just need to follow up with a well thought out experiment, data collection, and analysis.  So stop worrying and over-thinking, and just find a topic that you are truly interested in!

Until next time,
The Science Fair Girl

The Dos and Don’ts of Choosing a Topic

By now you should be thinking about what topic to choose for your project.  The topic you choose to explore can make or break your chances of a winning project.  Here are some simple dos and don’ts to help you get started.

DO be interested in your topic.  I’ve said it before, and I will say it again; it is vital you are interested in the topic you are exploring.  This will make the task of completing your project more enjoyable, help you answer questions about your project, and make the judging process easier.  What is something you’ve always wanted to learn about, but never covered in school?  This is a great opportunity to explore those unanswered questions!

DON’T choose a topic just because you think it sounds important or impressive.  How are you going to convince others that your project is worthy of a prize if your only answer is “it sounds good”?  Also, if an idea sounds important to you, chances are someone already thought of it, it’s a controversial issue, or there is already a strong opinion on the subject which may affect the judging.  By all means, if you want to do a project on which roof design is most hurricane resistant because you heard about the damage from Hurricane Katrina or even the recent Irene, go ahead, but make sure you have at least a spark of personal interest in hurricanes or architecture or you will be bored.

DO choose a topic you can properly test in a few months.  If you have big ideas, you can break your idea into more sizable pieces.  Break the testing into phases, or identify all the testing you would like to do but attempt only a subset.  For example, with the hurricane roof example, there are many types of roof designs and many different categories of hurricanes.  Specify that you will be testing hipped, gabled, and pagoda roofs in category 1 and 2 hurricane winds.  By properly specifying the scope of your project you can save yourself a headache or negative judgment.  It is better to identify the best way to test a hypothesis with all of the variables and options, and then choose a smaller group to test, than to not finish your project because you attempted too much.

DON’T choose a topic because it sounds super easy.  If it sounds easy to you, it’s going to sound easy to the judges.  Uncomplicated and easy are different though.  You can have a project that can be tested with a simply designed experiment, and you can have a super easy experiment.  Testing decomposition by burying different items and digging them up X weeks later to inspect is a super easy project, but it probably won’t win you favor with the judges.  Testing decomposition of the same item in different soil compositions, measuring the soil temperature over time, and comparing the initial and final mass of the item is a simple but well thought out project.

If you really get stuck on a topic, just pay attention to the world around you for a day or too.  How many times do ask yourself “Why?” or “How?” in a day?  Remember, topic ideas are all around you if you keep your eyes (and your mind) open.

Until next time.

The Science Fair Girl

The Value of a Science Fair

Science Fairs have gotten a bit of a bad reputation.  How many times have you heard someone say “oh goody, I have to do a science fair this year”? If you search “science fair” on Facebook, you will find many groups about how awful science fairs are before you come across any support groups.  Some school districts have even debated discontinuing mandatory science fairs.  Have science fairs outlived their purpose?  What is the real value of a science fair?

The real value is not learning the scientific method; this concept can be adequately driven home in a middle school classroom. Yes, participating in science fairs will strengthen your understanding of the scientific method, but that is not the real value.  Science fairs will encourage students to think critically, search for answers, and solve problems on their own. Since this is a multi-month project, long range planning and time management skills are reinforced. By presenting, and not just completing, your project you strengthen your written and verbal communication skills and become more comfortable discussing possibly complicated topics with a wide range of individuals.  These are critical skills for an independent adult, no matter what industry you eventually pursue.

Aside from the life skills learned, science fairs are a great opportunity to meet interesting new people, both your own age and potential professional contacts.  I made a lot of friends in science fairs: good friends who shared similar interests and motivation to succeed.  While exploring potential colleges, I actually traveled with one of my friends from Discovery Young Scientist Challenge (DYSC) to visit schools.  At a middle school regional fair, one of my judges was so impressed while talking to me that he gave me his card and told me to contact him when I was ready for college – he was a professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (which I later was accepted to with a substantial scholarship offer). I also received a high school job offer from judges to be teacher’s aide for Saturday morning robotics classes.  You really never know who you will meet or what doors will open because of science fairs.

Each year, college applications become increasingly competitive.  Participation in science fairs can increase the competitiveness of your application.  Not only could I list my awards in the “honors and awards” section of my application, but my experiences gave me unending fodder for essays.  I am proud to say that I was accepted to every college I applied to, and received many merit based scholarships from various organizations.  It’s an unfortunate fact of our society that you need to start planning for college as early as possible if you want to be the most competitive applicant you can be.  Middle school and junior high science fairs are not too early to begin networking and creating a marketable list of accomplishments for college applications.

Last but not least, the prizes you can win by participating in science fairs are just plain cool.  You could win an award to be patented, gift certificates, prize money, trips, or more – I even won a Game-boy once.  At DYSC, I won a TLC sponsored trip to the Carnegie Science Museum in Pennsylvania to build two cars with the reigning Junkyard Wars champions (video available on the Facebook fan page).  If you don’t remember the television show, two teams compete to build a mystery challenge device in 10 hours out of material found in a junkyard.  I suited up and built a dune buggy and dragster using power tools such as jig saws, acetylene torches, welders, and pipe benders – at age 14.  It was amazing, a once in a lifetime experience.  There is of course no guarantee that you will win huge prizes, but isn't it better to compete and try then never have a chance?

So what's the value of a science fair?  Interpersonal skills. Life Lessons. New friends. New opportunities. Amazing memories. Definitely sounds like a worthwhile experience to me!