Getting Started

The main aim of participation in SciFest is to engage students in creative problem solving without the restriction of having the ‘correct answer’. There is no set formula for choosing the perfect project. It can be in any area of science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM). Students should be encouraged to work collaboratively and come up with their own idea for a project. By doing this students learn how to take initiative and responsibility for their own learning, work in teams, become more confident and manage themselves more effectively.

Encourage students to:

 Talk to their parents, teachers, and friends  Check out the Internet and the school library  Watch the news, check out a newspaper, a science book or magazine  Think about interesting topics in science or investigate a hobby  Get a large sheet of paper and brainstorm with the team  Make a shortlist of ‘2 best ideas’  Research and brainstorm further  Discuss the ideas with teachers, parents and friends  Make out a list of all the things needed

Ask students to check if their idea is workable:

 Can measurements be taken?  Are they changing only one thing?  Are they able to keep everything else the same?  Is the equipment available?  Are all the experiments safe and are no harmful chemicals required?  Could the project be completed in time?  Is there enough information available?  Have they discussed the idea with you or another teacher?

Coming up with an idea!

Students need to know is that a STEM fair project is different from a school research project on a special topic like earthquakes or a famous scientist. It is also not about simply copying a demonstration from the Internet such as adding Mentos to Coke. However, such demonstrations can be used as the basis of a simple investigation, e.g. determining the height of the foam for different numbers of Mentos.

A STEM fair project involves carrying out an

investigation to answer a question or solve a problem or using technology to create an innovative solution to a real-world problem.

Behavioural and Social Sciences Projects

 Some social sciences projects may use questionnaires to collect data.  Questionnaires and surveys require careful design.  Students should Interview a number of experts in the area they are about to study to get ideas and to identify themes to include in their questionnaire or survey.  A pilot survey or questionnaire should be done.  A representative sample should always be used.  To do a good project students will need to go beyond basic statistics, therefore they may need to get help from somebody, e.g. a maths teacher.

Health, Safety and Ethical Issues

Before a project involving potentially dangerous, pathogenic, toxigenic or allergenic organisms (animals/insects, plants or microorganisms) is undertaken a competent expert must be consulted to advise on health and safety issues. Where projects involve human participants appropriate permission must be obtained and their wellbeing and privacy must be ensured.

Technology Projects

Many students are engaging in activities outside the classroom which involve coding and are experimenting with Raspberry Pi or Intel Galileo at home. SciFest creates an ideal opportunity to inspire such students to use technology to create innovative solutions to real-world problems. By applying their skills in www.scifest.ie computational techniques and writing new programs even very young students are designing exciting new products. These are the inventors and innovators of the future who will play a vital role in the continued development of our economy and in addressing global challenges such as climate change.