Google Science Fair! - deadline for project submissions is 4 April 2011.
http://www.google.com/events/sciencefair/
Google is looking for the brightest, best young scientists from around the world to submit interesting, creative projects that are relevant to the world today.
Who can enter?
The competition is open to students aged 13 to 18 from around the world working on their own or in a team of two or three. For more details, visit the Science Fair Rules page.
How to enter
· If you don't already have one, create a Google Account. You will need a Google Account to complete the sign up form.
· Complete the Google Science Fair sign up form. After you submit the form, you will see an important link on the confirmation page. This link will create the Google project submission site where you will post your science fair project details. Signed up but can’t find the link? Click here to create your Google project submission site.
· Plan your science project, conduct your experiment, and write up your results.
· Complete all of the sections of your Google project submission site (see sample project submission site).
· Create either a two-minute video or 20-slide presentation giving an overview of your project and embed it on the Summary page of your project submission. A video or presentation is required to enter.
· When your project site is done, make sure to submit it via this form by 4 April 2011.
Detailed instructions and tips for building your project submission can be found in the Resources section of this website.
Creating your project submission
All entrants will use a Google Site to showcase their science fair project. A Google Site is an easy way to create a website without having to know any computer coding. To learn more about the how to get setup with your very own Google Science Fair project submission site, click here. Note for Group Projects: If you are submitting an entry as a team, it’s important that you only create one site for your project.
Your Google Science Fair project submission site
Your Google Science Fair site is broken into 10 sections that you will customize by including short summaries and supporting documents:
· Summary: Give a brief overview of your project and embed a summary video or presentation.
· About Me: Tell the judges a bit about yourself.
· The Question: Find a question that interests you about something that you have observed, noticed, or wondered about.
· Hypothesis: Make an educated guess about how your experiment will answer your project question.
· Research: Summarize the research that you completed to support and answer your question.
· Experiment: Design, execute, and summarize an experiment that tests your hypothesis.
· Data: Report on all of the data, numbers, outputs, or outcomes from your experiment.
· Observations: Show an understanding of what you saw happening during your experiment.
· Conclusions: Explain how your experiment supported or contradicted your original hypothesis.
· Works Cited: Document any sources used in the course of your research and work.
· For more details about the entry process, visit the Science Fair Rules page.
Judging Process
The deadline for project submissions is 4 April 2011. After this date all projects will be judged by a panel of teachers who will be following the judging criteria. In early May 60 global semi finalists will be announced and their projects will be posted online and open to public voting for a “People’s Choice Award”. The 60 global semi finalists will then be narrowed down by our judging panel to 15 global finalists who will be announced later in May.
The 15 global finalists will be flown to Google HQ in California, USA for our celebratory Science Fair event and finalist judging round will take place on 11 July 2011. These finalists will be expected to present their projects before a panel of acclaimed scientists including Nobel Laureates, tech visionaries and household names. A finalist winner will be selected from each of the age categories, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18. One of the finalist winners will be named the Grand Prize Winner.
Judging Criteria
The following criteria will be used to judge each of the 8 core steps of your project site:
1. About me
An excellent student will show a real passion for science and be able to present their ideas with confidence, clarity and enthusiasm, and explain what winning would mean to them.
2. The Question
An excellent question will be interesting, creative, worded scientifically and relevant to the world today.
3. Hypothesis
An excellent hypothesis will lead on from the question, be tightly focused and build on existing knowledge.
4. Research
Excellent students will undertake research to help them shape their question and hypothesis and to put their work into a relevant, real-world context.
5. Experiment
Excellent students will demonstrate that they have used good experimental techniques and describe their experiment clearly and in detail.
6. Data
Excellent data will be relevant, sufficient to support a conclusion and should be recorded accurately and precisely, and be presented clearly.
7. Observations
Excellent observations will describe patterns or trends supported by the data.
8. Conclusion
An excellent conclusion will explain how the experiment answers the question or why it fails to do so and whether or not it supports the hypothesis.
Judges will be looking for the following qualities in your Works Cited section:
Excellent students will acknowledge and provide clear references for sources of information that they have consulted and/or referenced and acknowledge any assistance received (e.g. to find equipment and materials, to stay safe or to use unfamiliar equipment or techniques).
Judging your video or presentation
Judges will be looking for the following qualities in your video or presentation, which should be embedded on the Summary page of your Google Science Fair Project site:
An excellent video or presentation will provide a clear, brief overview of the question you are investigating, the stages of your project, what you set out to achieve and how far you succeeded. The video should be no longer than two minutes, and the presentation should include 20 slides.
Hint: During the first round of judging, the judges will be concentrating on your film or presentation, the information that you give about yourself, your question, your hypothesis, and your conclusion, so make sure that these do your project justice.