Planning

Define your goals, then proceed with the "nuts and bolts" phases: materials and equipment

The ultimate success of every science fair project depends largely on the care taken in preliminary preparations and planning. A winning project usually means that its builder gave a good deal of thought to the problems and difficulties he might encounter before he started his project, and was able to avoid them later.

Without belaboring the difficulties involved in planning and executing a science fair project, it might be worthwhile considering the case of the anonymous Cape Canaveral missileman who, at the point of frustration where humor was the only solution, denned the problems of scientific research.

"Murphy's Laws of Research and Experimentation," revised so that they apply to science fair projects, are as follows:

1. If difficulties do appear in a science fair project, they will appear at the worst possible time.

2. Once a "bug" in a science fair project has been detected, it will go from bad to worse.

3. The more obvious the problem, the more obscure the cause and cure.

4. If anything whatsoever can go wrong with any part of a science fair project, it will.

5. The combined forces of nature always aid the hidden flaw.

6. The most difficult problems will always seem the simplest during planning stages.

Explain your project to someone not familiar with your field. Even laymen can be helpful, and in explaining your project, it will become clearer to you.

Scientific research has been called . . . "warfare on the unknown" (see above). Scientist operates ion-propulsion model in effort to develop spacecraft engine.

Bull sessions with your friends will often prove helpful. Here, a group works on a field emission microscope at Stuyvesant High School in New York.

Classes and lab sessions are often helpful in turning up bits of information that apply to your project (see right). Your science teacher can help you discover areas where you lack an understanding of topic.
 
While Murphy's Laws are humorously pessimistic, they do serve to point out one important fact: careful planning is essential.

Planning Techniques

Scientific research has been called "warfare on the unknown." To carry this military analogy further, it will be helpful to plan your "science campaign" on two levels the strategic and tactical. Very simply, tactical planning takes care of the day-today problems, while strategic planning tries to take the more distant future into consideration.

Obviously, a science fair project is a long term effort, and will require your time for weeks or months. It must be planned on the second, or strategic, level. Each individual segment of your project will have to be considered on a tactical level, but only after you have planned it as a whole.
At this point in your planning you have gone as far as choosing a topic, and you probably have a rough idea of what your project will be. Chances are, however, that you have not yet decided on how to attack the problem you have set for yourself. You may not be sure of what you should do first, or what is most important. Strategic planning demands that you be sure of these points. In addition, you should now define your over-all objectives.

The idea is to arrange your project so that you are working with a clear goal in mind while avoiding shackles that will keep you from seizing and exploring new avenues that appear as you develop your project.

Bronxx High School of Science Walter Vecchio
 
Make a project estimate: an estimate of all the factors that will affect your work. Include such things as your natural resources, topic area, what you hope to do, and the more obvious pitfalls and difficulties. Undoubtedly, you automatically made a mental estimate while you were choosing a topic in order to get a rough idea of what you project would entail. Now is the time to elaborate, to consider the little things you neglected and the minor difficulties that were glossed over.

A written estimate is a much better idea. With everything in front of you and out of your mind, you can be sure that critical points have not been overlooked and that you have considered all of the angles.

At the start of planning you should set up a project notebook that will enable you to record all of the preparations you make, and to detail your thoughts on the project. The notebook will become a daily log when you begin the construction phase, and, after the science fair, it will remain as a permanent record of your efforts.

Defining Your Project

The first step in solving any problem is to list everything known about it, collect all additional important facts, gather all available information, and, most important, be sure the problem is understood.

Remember the procedure used to solve a geometry problem? First the problem, as stated, is written down. Below this is added the given information and a statement of what is to be proved. Finally, each step is listed with the justifications for it. The last step is a statement showing that the problem has been solved.

Science fair projects, along with all scientific effort, must also be treated in this manner. What do you plan to show or do with your project? What are its aims and goals? What will it prove, disprove, or take issue with? The answers to these questions must be clear in your mind before you can proceed.

If you are an amateur rocketeer, what will your project demonstrate? Do you plan to build a small rocket, or work on new fuel or instruments without actually assembling a rocket? How is your project different or original? After all, the Chinese built rockets hundreds of years ago. Assuming that you have elected to cultivate harmless bacteria, have you decided why? Since they are harmless, why waste time with them? You should have good answers to these questions. The judges are sure to ask!

Sit down with pencil and paper, and write a short, clear synopsis of your project. Pretend that you are describing it to an interested person. If you can't describe it simply in writing, chances are you do not fully understand it. Keep on trying until you are fully satisfied.

Try to figure out how you will accomplish each segment of your project, and include details on material, equipment, and outside help or information you will need.

Tie everything together by writing a second synopsis describing your rough plans. The first synopsis is like a "title," and states what you hope to do; the second incorporates the methods you will use to do it. Together they make a complete description of your project. When they are finished, you should understand the "what" and "how" of the work that lies ahead of you.

Discussion

The job of planning a project is often made easier if you discuss it with interested people. Others will look at your problems from different angles, and will often be able to give you good suggestions. A talk with your adviser or science teacher should quickly rout out areas where you lack complete understanding. Even laymen in your field can be helpful, as their experience in other fields often gives them insight into related topic areas.

Materials and equipment for a project often pose a problem. Salvaged and surplus electronic supplies offer an ideal solution for many projects in electronics as the cost is very little (see above).

Science instructor Alfred Bender helps a student, Roger Masella. construct a diode amplifier at Stuyvesant High School in New York City. The school has heavily accented program in sciences.
 
Explaining your project to someone, especially a person not familiar with your field, provides you with an excellent opportunity to further understand your topic. In order to explain it, you will have to make your description clear, concise, and simple. Doing this will also make your project clearer to you.

Bull sessions with your friends will often give you new ideas and information. A friend might have spotted an article you missed, or noticed how a point covered in one of his classes applies to your project.

Finally, a chat about your project is bound to raise your morale. Strange as it seems, explaining your problems to someone will also clarify them, and a solution may suddenly pop into view.

Imagination

Imagination is an indispensable asset in planning a project. When you understand the problem you have set for yourself and have thoroughly researched it, it pays to give free rein to your imagination.

Science fairers often tend to avoid imaginative approaches to their problems. They are afraid to blaze new trails, and are satisfied with conventional methods and materials. Try not to chain yourself in this manner. If you have a hunch, or simply a good idea, do not discard it because "it has not been done before." You can check its worth by speaking to your adviser or science teacher.

Be sure to record "blue sky" ideas in your project notebook for future reference. Perhaps next year's project can be built around this year's imaginative thought.

Materials and Equipment

What about materials? At the very least, a theoretical project will require display materials. Research and engineering projects usually require a wide variety of equipment and supplies.

Generally speaking, you can do without certain materials when you start your project; required items can be purchased or otherwise obtained as they are needed. It is a good idea, however, to know exactly what you will need before you need it. This way nothing will take you by surprise, and you will have ample time to make necessary substitutions. Also, certain supplies may not be available locally, and will have to be ordered by mail. Such transactions can take several weeks to complete.
 
Working with your rough project plans, draw up a fairly complete list of materials and equipment. Check what you intend to make, borrow, and buy. All that is important at this stage is to make certain that you know what items must be purchased so that you can make a realistic cost estimate.

Although not strictly a material, workshop space, testing grounds, etc., should be included in your list. Play it safe and avoid taking anything for granted. If you have been promised certain items or pieces of equipment, make sure that you can get them, and that they will be available to you for as long as you need them. Don't overlook small items such as shipping charges, hardware, paint, tape, cardboard, etc. Miscellaneous materials can often total a full 25 per cent of project costs.

After you have corralled all the materials you will need on paper, catalog them into groups according to use. Glassware might form one category, for example, and electrical supplies another. Check again to make sure that you have included everything.

When you know exactly what supplies you will need, go through your list and estimate the cost of each item. Total it up and stand back: your initial estimate will probably be well above what you expected or thought possible. First estimates are always high, however, because they are based on a roughly planned project. As you complete your planning you will find numerous ways of cutting corners.

One would be hard pressed to name a more ingenious group of individuals than science fairers when it comes to turning apparently worthless discards into useful materials. A visit to any science fair will show up scrap, surplus, and bits of "junk" that have been converted into winning projects. The old cliche of the "sow's ear into a silk purse" is dull by comparison. Rather, it is like the ancient alchemist's dream of turning base metals into gold.

Ancient refrigerators have been stripped of wheezing motors which have been resurrected and pressed into new service. Long dead television sets have been scavenged for components. A rough count might easily lead one to believe that half of the wood used in science fair displays has been hacked from orange crates. Old pressure cookers have served valiantly as autoclaves for biological experiments that used baking dishes and old glass jars instead of expensive laboratory glassware.

Westinghouse Photo

Of course, there are certain items and materials that must be purchased or salvaged intact from discarded equipment. Before completing your estimate, however, consider whether you really need certain materials or complex equipment to complete your project. Perhaps the project can be altered in such a way as to make some materials unnecessary. Needless extravagance may indicate to the judges that you don't really understand your topic or the requirements of your field. In addition, a project successfully constructed from available odds and ends certainly demonstrates more in the way of talent and ingenuity.

When you know what you must buy, check over the chapter on shopping. With care, you can make a few dollars go a long way.

Time

Most science fairers underestimate the time required to complete their projects. A lot of hard work is hidden below the surface of a good project. All you see is the final display which probably did not take too much time to build. But think of the time spent planning, organizing, shopping, assembling, testing, "de-bugging," and arriving at conclusions.

Wood, fiberboard, jars and other odds and ends become an impressive project as Charles Bennett of Cro-ton-On-Hudson, N. Y., demonstrates. Bennett's project, one of the winners in the Science Talent Search, dealt with respiration rates of freshwater snails (see left).

Make sure that borrowed equipment will be available during the time you need it. Here, Marvin For-man of Stuyvesant High School uses an oscilloscope owned by the school (right).
 
Perhaps those weeks or months before the fair seem like a long time to you. Rest assured that your thinking will change. Any way you figure it, there are only 24 hours in a day. Into those 24 hours you will have to fit your project, your present high school work load, recreation, relaxation, and occasionally some sleep.

Although a science fair project can be quite engrossing (most are!), it should not completely replace your present hobbies, athletics, and social activities. After a while it will cease to be fun and become simply an unpleasant job. Allot your time carefully and set up deadlines for various phases of your project so that you will be able to fit everything into your tight schedule.

Some projects will take more time than others. A plant growth experiment, for example, may require several months, while an electronic device might take only a few weeks. Regardless of topic, however, there are certain fixed time requirements. It takes time to "polish" a rough project into exhibition quality, to build a presentation of charts and diagrams, and to eliminate flaws or "bugs."

All science fairers should set aside some time to process experimental data, compile results, and reach conclusions. A slew of raw data and several roughhewn conclusions won't help your project.

Making a Timetable

Draw up a rough timetable to give yourself a set of approximate deadlines. Don't hope to meet them all (you won't!). Nevertheless, these rough dates will help you pace your project so that you can avoid crowding everything together in one frantic stretch of work.

Most projects can be divided into four overlapping regions as far as time is concerned:

1. Organization
2. Construction
3. Development
4. Presentation

Organization encompasses project planning, outside reading and research, drawing blueprints and plans, setting up a work area, and everything else necessary to get a project "on the road." Construction includes assembly and any other physical work required, setting up experiments, etc. At the completion of the construction phase an engineering project may be almost finished, but a research or experimental project is just beginning.

The development stage covers experimental work, gathering of data, and otherwise using the project in its intended manner. Whatever the topic, development includes tabulating results and reaching conclusions. Presentation is concerned with dressing up a project in science fair trim: the design and construction of a display to present at the fair.

Since time demands vary so widely, it is impossible to give even rough estimates here. In general, however, it is often helpful if you can devote as much uninterrupted effort as possible to the construction of your project. Development work is easier to squeeze into odd hours as it is usually not continuous. You can examine the data and reach conclusions in any bits of free time you have.

The rest is simple. Get yourself a daily calendar or diary and draw up a schedule. Write down any examinations, social events, or other time-consuming obligations. A reasonable time safety factor is 25 per cent of your estimate. Add this on and spread the total across your schedule. If possible, allow two full weeks of clear time before the science fair to take care of last minute details.

Will you require any outside help or information to complete your project? Included are pieces of equipment you hope to borrow, technical aid and collaboration from a professional in your field, and access to data or reference material.

Outside Help
Westinghouse Photo
 
NOW is the time to make appointments with professional scientists. Many science fairers have planned to visit experts during vacations or holidays only to learn too late that the person was out of town or completely tied up in his own work. Equipment might be available to you only during a certain period of time; obviously, you will have to plan your schedule around this period. In any event, write letters and make appointments while your requirements are still flexible.

Completing Your Planning

By now, your project notebook should contain rough statements of the nature of your project, how you intend to develop it, and estimates of the time and materials required.
 
Before you begin to assemble or start actual work on your project, you must combine all of the information you have gathered from outside research, your ideas, and your estimates.

Organization will prevent you from running in all directions at once, and includes such things as making a complete shopping list, gathering those items you need to begin work, drawing plans and diagrams, and editing outside research data into useful form.

Engineering projects will require detailed plans and parts lists for each section. Research projects must have complete descriptions of experimental apparatus in addition to blueprints and working diagrams. Experimental procedures should be planned in advance.

Finally, you should set up a work space for your project, whether at home or school. Now is the time to get to work!

If you will need outside help, make arrangements now (see left). Douglas Chessen (right), one of the winners of the Science Talent Search, gleaned information from a prominent scientist and former Search winner. Mai. Paul Teschan, M.D. Here, Maj. Teschan demonstrates a stainless steel animal isolator used to perform Caesarean sections to obtain germfree animals for research.

Busy schedule? Plan your project so that you will have time for your present school work, recreation, relaxation, and occasionally a bit of sleep (see right).

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