Information for Teachers
Teachers are encouraged to take advantage of the excellent resources for teachers provided by the Science Fair Foundation of BC.
The Fraser Valley Regional Science Fair welcomes projects from students from kindergarten through grade 12, from public and private schools and from homeschoolers in our region.
Kindergarten – Grade 6 Projects
Projects are displayed on their school’s table(s). Projects are not judged for gold, silver or bronze, but all are awarded a recognition certficate. In addition, any students who have self-nominated for a special award are interviewed by a judge.
Kindergarten – Grade 3 teachers often work on whole-class or small group investigations. Recent examples: a kindergarten study of bird feeder visitors in the schoolyard; a grade 2 class investigation of forces-and-motion, with small groups presenting their findings on a single backboard. Such guided investigations model good scientific practice and show students the steps in exploring and presenting a topic: thinking of a project, making observations, collecting and recording information, doing background research, and creating a backboard.
Grades 4 - 6 teachers also are encouraged to present such group projects at the science fair. Recent examples: an environmental club’s restoration of a local streambank environment; small group inquiries on the topic of weather. Presentation of these projects and of class involvement in programs such as Salmonids-in-the-Classroom and Skywatchers showcase school-based science initiatives in the community.
Many teachers guide their Grade 4-6 students as they work alone or in pairs on individually chosen topics. At this level, investigations are usually not original research, as expected at the Grade 7-12 level; instead of original experiments, studies, and innovations/inventions, younger students prepare demonstrations, reports and models of commonly understood science topics. Examples: a demonstration of buoyancy; a report on polar bears and the threats to their survival due to global warming; a model of how a submarine works. Such projects help younger students develop the basic skills of investigation: locating good sources of information; making good choices about materials to work with; collecting and presenting information and data; organising their findings; creating attractive displays (backboards) to present what they have learned. Older or more experienced students extend their skills: asking original questions; investigating the topic rigorously; presenting data precisely; displaying their findings convincingly.
Grade 7 - 12 Projects
Students who have guided experiences in the younger grades are well prepared to enter the Fraser Valley Regional Science Fair at the Junior (Grades 7-8), Intermediate (Grades 9-10) and Senior (Grades 11-12) levels, where they present projects based on original research: original experiments, studies, and innovations/inventions. They are judged, awarded ribbons and special awards if they have self-nominated. These students are eligible to be chosen to represent the region at the Canada-Wide Science Fair.