🌟 Westridge Elementary STEM Fair 2025 🌟

Date: Friday, January 31, 2025  

Open House from 12:30 PM – 1:25 PM (Judging occurs earlier in the day)

Location: Westridge Elementary Gym

Are you ready to explore, create, and solve real-world problems? The Westridge Elementary STEM Fair is your chance to shine! Here’s everything you need to know to get started:

📅 Important Dates to Remember

• Parent Information Meeting: Thursday, January 9th, 2025, 6:00 – 6:30 PM
• Application Deadline: Friday, January 10th, 2025 (Submit to your teacher)
• STEM Fair Day: Friday, January 31st, 2025 
  • Judging from 8:30 – 11:30
  • Open House from 12:30 – 1:25
• District STEM FAIR February 13th, 2025 @ Shoreline Middle School

🤔 Who Can Participate?

ALL Westridge students from Kindergarten to 6th grade are invited!

The Top 10 projects from 5th and 6th grades will represent Westridge Elementary at the Provo City School District STEM Fair at Shoreline MIddle School on February 13th, 2025. 

🛠️ STEPS FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PROJECTS

SCIENCE PROJECT  PROCESS

• Step 1: Choose Your Method Scientific Method:
• Ask a Question: What do you wonder about?
• Make a Hypothesis: What do you think will happen?
• Test Your Idea: Conduct an experiment and record results.

Engineering Design Process:

• Identify a Problem: What can you solve?
• Plan and Build: Create a prototype.
• Test and Improve: Refine your solution.

📒 What You Need

Lab Book or Journal (required for 5th and 6th graders) Write down EVERYTHING—questions, plans, results, and reflections. Without a lab book, your project will not be accepted! You MUST complete a DATA notebook while conducting your experiment. This means that every time you collect data, students must write it down in their data notebooks. If students do not complete this, your project will not be accepted.

Display Board or Google Slideshow to showcase your findings visually. Check out our examples on this website for inspiration!

🚫 Important Rules

No Food, Plants, or Animals in your display.

Use written or printed text and photos  only—no  items will be allowed with your display. 

Special Rules for Some Projects

Projects involving certain elements require additional forms and permissions:

• People as Subjects: Testing people (e.g., surveys or experiments) requires permission and safety checks.
• Animals: Projects involving live animals (e.g., fish, birds, or reptiles) need special approval.
• Hazardous Items: If your project uses chemicals, sharp tools, or other dangerous items, follow safety rules and obtain permission.
• Biological Materials: Projects involving bacteria, viruses, or body samples (e.g., blood or tissues) must be conducted in a lab under strict rules.
• Projects without the necessary forms or permissions will not be allowed.

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💡 Need Inspiration?

STEM projects can be simple and meaningful. Here are some resources to spark your creativity:

• Central Utah STEM Fair  Resource Page

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RESOURCES FOR STEM FAIR PROJECTS

S.T.E.M. projects focus on REAL-WORLD problems that students face every day or questions that students have about the world around them.

Explore Everyday Science like baking!:

The chemistry of cookies – Stephanie Warren

• The Science Behind Baking Your Ideal Chocolate Chip Cookie

Mythbusters: Measuring Distance of a Sneeze

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Get Hands-On with Engineering:

• Mark Rober STEM Fair  Project Ideas

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NEED HELP GETTING YOUR PROJECT STARTED?

GO NO FURTHER! HERE ARE SEVERAL GREAT VIDEOS FROM @NASA JET PROPULSION LABORATORY TO HELP YOU START

• DIY Space: How to Do a Science Fair Project – Overview

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• DIY Space: How to Do a Science Fair Project – Step 1

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• DIY Space: How to Do a Science Fair Project – Step 2

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• DIY Space: How to Do a Science Fair Project – Step 3

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• DIY Space: How to Do a Science Fair Project – Step 4

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• DIY Space: How to Do a Science Fair Project – Step 5

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  Data Notebook Requirement

 Keeping a Lab Book The lab book is perhaps the most important part of your science fair project. Keeping a detailed lab notebook proves to the judges that you did the work you say you did, that your data actually exists and is valid, and that you followed the scientific method. You should write in your lab book anytime and every time you work on, talk about, or even think about your project. It is critical that you:  Write neatly in black or blue ink. Do not use pencil.  Do not erase or white-out anything. If you make a mistake, simply line it out like this: I made a mistake. Judges get suspicious if they see lots of have erasures or white-out. It makes them ask “What is this student trying to hide?”  Record the date, time, and place where you are working. Make mention of any other people who you might be talking to or working with.  Write down anything you observe, what you do, and any data you collect. Here is an example of what a page in your lab notebook might look like:

Keeping a lab book isn’t hard, and it can really pay off. Remember, you may have discovered a cure for cancer, but if you don’t write down how you did it then who cares? Write down everything related to your project. You can even paste in pictures, photographs, charts, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, photocopied pages from a book . . . the list is endless. Moral of the story: the better the lab notebook you keep, the better the chance that your project will win!

• How to Create a Data Notebook

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THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD The Scientific Method is more than just for Science class. It’s can be every day problems too. Here are some videos to help guide you through the different steps of the Scientific Method.

• The Scientific Method

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• Engineering Design Process

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HOW TO DESIGN A BOARD

• Everything You Need to Know About Fonts for Display Boards

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Prefer a Google Slideshow over a board? Copy the template below, create your slideshow at home, and share it with your school email to present on your Chromebook.

• (This is the DIGITAL TEMPLATE)

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FORMS YOU NEED

5th and 6th Grade need to complete the  Central Utah STEM Fair Forms.  We are sponsored by these organizations and must adhere to their guidelines.  Students  in Kindergarten  through  4th  grade only  need  to  fill  out  the school form. 

• WESTRIDGE FORM for Kinder – 4th Grades

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• 5th/6th Central Utah Stem Fair Form