Talking to the Science Fair Judges

It is now early March, the last week before the Science Fair. You are coming to the end of this significantly challenging and rewarding effort known as your science fair project. Your hypothesis has been proven true or false, conclusions have been reached, and your entire project has been neatly summarized on your display. All that remains is going to the Science Fair on either Friday evening or Saturday morning, setting up your display, and talking to the judges.

Talking to the judges???? But you get nervous even thinking about that! This might be your first year, and you have never talked to judges before! Our best advice to you is to RELAX!!!! The judges are looking forward to talking to you. They realize you have put a lot of work into your project, and that you are proud of your efforts and everything you have learned. Most will be scientists and engineers who enjoyed science so much they chose it as their profession. They really do want to hear your story!

One important thing to remember is that it is okay, even normal, to be nervous. The best way to calm your nerves is to prepare ahead of time for talking to the judges. You do not need a word-for-word memorized speech! The best plan is to practice a simple presentation that uses your project display as a guide; it should basically review your project from start to finish. Keep it short and to the point. You may want to include some of the details that are not on the display, perhaps how you began your project, or what you learned. The judges will ask if they want you to explain something further. The great thing about your project display is it will be with you at the Science Fair; you can use it to point to and highlight important items from your project, and it can help you get back on track if the judges stop you to ask a question.

Practicing your presentation a few times with your parents or friends the week before the Science Fair will do wonders to calm your nerves. And, you will be better prepared when you give your presentation for real on the day of the Science Fair. How long should you talk? Five minutes is a good rough number; in this amount of time the judges will be able to understand the key points of your project, but still have time to ask you a few questions about it. Certainly for the Elementary Division, less than five minutes is okay, and for the Junior and Senior Divisions more than five minutes will likely be necessary to describe the project. Want more advice? Specifically on how to prepare for and practice your presentation to the judges? Check out "YOUR PRESENTATION TO THE JUDGES", at the on-line science fair website: http://www.oklahoman.net/science/html/advice.html.

How interested are the judges in your project and the Science Fair?

Consider this: many of the judges represent local sections of professional societies. These local societies not only help in judging, but also provide significant funding to the Science Fair for both expenses and awards. Over $1500 in cash, savings bonds and prizes were presented at last yearís Bartlesville District Science Fair! In addition to cooperating to sponsor the Science Fair, the following Bartlesville-area technical societies provided awards consisting of cash, savings bonds, plaques, certificates and other prizes: the Northeast Oklahoma Section of the American Chemical Society, the Bartlesville Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Engineers Club of Bartlesville, the Bartlesville Chapter of the Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers, and the Bartlesville-Tulsa Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers. Many other professional organizations also sponsored judges and awards, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Petroleum Engineers, American Meteorological Society, National Association of Biology Teachers, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America, and the National Association of Corrosion Engineers. Businesses and government organizations also sponsored awards, including the Bartlesville Garden Center, Inc., Public Service Company of Oklahoma, Intel, Eastman Kodak Company, United States Air Force, United States Army, and the United States Navy/Marine Corps.

 

 

Questions? Contact the Director, Lee Carvell, at 918-661-3450.

 

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