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Kiwanis Club of West Geauga

2015 Stem Fair Results






Individual Projects High School






First

Lexi

Ober

 

 

 

Second

John

Wenger

 

Lilly

Makee

 

 

 

Third

Caleb

Ramey




Individual Projects Middle School






First

Meena

Chauhan

 

 

 

Second

 

 

 

 

 

Third

Yvette

Petersen




Math High School






First

William

Kucera

 

 

 

Second

Victoria

Grabinski

 

 

 

Third

Ryan

Gleske




Math Middle School






First

Zachary

Bobango

 

 

 

Second

Aidan

Mann

 

 

 

Third

Robin

McBride




Junk Box War






First

William

Kucera

 

Andrew

Todaro

 

Alex

Condilla




Second

Victoria

Grabinski

 

Natalie

Cizek

 

Matthew

Ickes




Third

Will

Snyder

 

Daniel

Hartman

 

Chris

Zannetti




How Do I Fare






First

Reno

Marino

 

Mathew

Stewart




Second

Kaitlyn

Zerbe

 

Raquel

Nevar




Third

Ben

Fazio

 

Shaun

Podojil

 

 

 

 

 

The West Geauga Kiwanis Club is now underway in preparing for the 2016 STEM Fair.  STEM Fair is an acronym for science/technology/engineering & math.  Students from
West Geauga Middle School, and Home Schooled in the WG School District will be conducting individual research projects of their own choice as well as the traditional mousetrap car and a structural problem competition.

 

The West Geauga High School  & Home Schooled in the WG School District students will also be competing with individual technical research projects of their own interest.  In addition, students may choose to compete in math, architecture, robotics, structure design and the popular Junk Box War.  Kiwanis members will be visiting the schools to register students who wish to participate.  As you may recall, West Geauga was one of only three high schools in the country to receive Intel's prestigious Technology Award.

 


  For further information

       Rich Levine, Chairman

        ralbjp@att.net
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The  STEM – Science /Technology/Engineering/Mathematics - FAIR

                 SPONSORED  BY  THE  WEST  GEAUGA  KIWANIS

 

               RULES,  REGULATIONS  AND  PROCEDURES

 

PURPOSE: The purpose of the STEM FAIR is to provide a venue for students to  

                   engage in a competition which will help them focus on the scientific  

                    process and reward them for their efforts.


WHERE: West Geauga Middle School Gymnasium

SCHEDULE:

                    Doors open at 8:00 am for Individual Project Setup

                    Math Competition begins at 8:00 (Math competition is a 30 minute timed test.  You can show up to take   the test anytime between 8 and 11:30 as your schedule permits".)

                    Junk Box War begins at 9:30 am

                         Judging of Individual Projects begins at 8:30 am

                    Bridge and Helicopter competition begins at 10:00 am

                     Judging of Individual Projects should end by approximately 11:30 am              

                     Awards will be presented post judging

WHO: Students from:

                     West Geauga High School

                     West Geauga Middle School

                          Home Schooled in the WG School District

                     

INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS: Students must register their entry forms with a  

                      description of their project                

                     All projects must be signed by their Science Teacher, parent or  

                      guardian.                                                                                                      

                      Only one student per entry please. No group projects will be

                       accepted for judging.

                       Student Project Exhibits must be setup before 8:30 am, Saturday

                       and ready for  judging. Students must be present during judging.

PROJECT DISPLAY: Exhibits may not exceed 24” deep, 36” wide, and 96”

                       from the floor.

                       The exhibit must be sturdy enough to stand on its own. Assume

                       drafts and possible bumps during display.

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: Do not display anything that could injure a small

                        child or could harm anyone who might touch it.

                        Do not display food of any type – use pictures.

DISQUALIFICATION: The violation of any rule may mean disqualification.

 

JUDGING: Two judges will review and evaluate your Research Project. The

                         judges are professionals and teachers in the field of Science,

                         Engineering, and Technology.

CRITERIA FOR JUDGING: The following is a brief description of the criteria

                          that will be used in evaluating and scoring your Research Project

 

AWARDS: First, Second and Third Place Winners will receive Cash Awards, Metal and

                          a Certificate.
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Rules and Regulations

     

JUNK  BOX  WAR  INSTRUCTIONS

W.G. Kiwanis 2016 STEM FAIR

            Saturday, at the Middle School Cafeteria

The JUNK BOX WAR is for Junior and Senior High School Students only

Two or three students only make up a team, (not less than two and no more than three students)

The competition will begin at 09:30 sharp.  If you are late, you will lose valuable time,  Your Team Leader must register your team before you begin.

Each Team will be given a Table Number where you will find a box of "junk".

All of the teams will have identical "junk" in their boxes

You will have two hours to build a mechanism to carry out a specific function.

After two hours all construction must end and the team competition phase will begin.

Each member of the First, Second, and Third Place Winning Team will be awarded a metal, a certificate and monetary award

An award will also be given out to the most unique designed mechanism.

Form your Team and register now!

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                              MIDDLE  SCHOOL  DIVISION – Grades 6,7,8

         STEM – SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY / ENGINEERING / MATH – FAIR

             SPONSORED  BY  THE  KIWANIS  CLUB  OF  WEST  GEAUGA  

                      Saturday,  begins at 8:00

                              at the West Geauga Middle School Gymnasium

 

                                              INDIVIDUAL  RESEARCH  PROJECTS

Select a Scientific Research Project of your own choice, such as in the field of Biology, Earth Science, Engineering, Environment, Aerospace, Physics, Chemistry & etc. As an example you might want to find out what is the best adhesive or glue for use with various materials such as glass, metal, rubber, plastic, masonry and etc. Research and run the necessary tests to come to a conclusive outcome. Prepare a display illustrating the procedure followed in determining your conclusions. You must submit an entry form to your science teacher,  briefly describing your project with the approval of  your teacher, parent or guardian, before December 2, 2012. Samples of potential projects may be found on the Internet or at the Library. There is no charge for this entry.

                            

Middle School Special Event Competition:

Building A Bridge for Strength


PLEASE FOLLOW DIRECTIONS- THE BRIDGE CAN NOT HAVE A DECK, A WEIGHT IS HUNG UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE TO DETERMINE STRENGTH

DESCRIPTION:

Design and construct a model bridge across a 20” span using only the supplied sucker sticks and wood gussets which will be held together using only the supplied Elmer’s Glue.  Using materials other than those included with the kit will result in disqualification.  The clothes pins are for clamping only.  The finished bridge must have a minimum clearance width of 4” and an overhead minimum clearance of 5” to allow the passage of a Lionel train.  The total overall size of the bridge shall not exceed 5” in width, 7” in height and 24” in length.  The deck of the bridge must be supported by cross beams every 4 1/2” for the entire length of the bridge, however, the bridge deck must be omitted to allow load testing of the bridge.

SUGGESTIONS:

 

1. Use the sucker sticks for members which will be in compression
2. Use the string for members that will be in tension
3. Use gussets at every member connection
4. Use spring clothes pins to clamp members together when gluing.

          5. Be sure your bridge stays within all size restrictions!

OBJECTIVE:

 

        To build the strongest bridge possible across the 20” span, satisfying the required clearances                using only the supplied sucker sticks and gussets. The structural design of the bridge will require          a thorough understanding of stresses, including compression, tension, torsion and shear.

MATERIALS:

 

Supplies - a kit containing the following:

66 sucker sticks
8 skew sticks
8 - 1/2” x 1/2” wood gussets,  20 - 1” x 1” wood gussets
60” of string
l – 2 fluid ounce container of Elmer’s Glue
6 - Spring clothes pins


Building A Bridge for Strength

 

KIT PICKUP:

 

        Kits will be available the week of December 16th at your school’s office, held under your name.

COMPETITION:

        Each bridge will be placed on a calibrated testing machine with a span of 20 inches.  Each
        bridge will be tested using a 4” wide x 12” long x ¼” thick wood plank representing the deck of the         bridge.  Weight will be added until the bridge fails.  Deflection may not exceed 24% or 1 ½” or the
        bridge will be considered to have failed even though no structural members have broken.  Failure,         however, of any member of the bridge will be considered by the judges as failure of the structure.         The bridge supporting the maximum load at the point of failure will be considered the winner.  The         judge’s decision is final.

ADVISOR:
           Frank Slapnicker             440-729-4526

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 Building A Rubber Band Helicopter

BUILD  A  RUBBER  BAND  HELICOPTER  TO REMAIN  IN  THE  AIR  THE  LONGEST

          This project involves the design and construction of a Helicopter powered by the use of only a

           rubber band. There are no restrictions on the size or weight of the Helicopter, but must be

           constructed only from wood, paper, card board, or flexible plastic. The various components

           may be held together with tape, thread, string, wire or glue. Commercially available

           propellers or ridged plastic will not be allowed. All of the items included in the kit may or

           may not be used, with the exception of the rubber band, which must be used as the sole source

           of power! THE COMPETITION FOR THE HELICOPTERS WILL BE IN THE Wrestling Room.

           Examples of Rubber Band powered Helicopters are included to help you in the design of your

           craft. A number of various designs of Helicopters are available on the internet under “Rubber band

           Helicopters.”

 

         Both the Bridge and Helicopter Kits contain the required parts and instructions to complete the project. Only those items included in the Bridge kit may be used in the construction of the

Bridge! You have a choice of competing in only one of  the  competitions. The deadline to register is December 6, 2013. Applications will not be accepted after this deadline!

All students must register their intent, (NO EXCEPTIONS). The reason for the deadline is to allow time for us to prepare and deliver the kits before the Christmas vacation.

This will allow time for you to complete the kit.             

                          

Check the box of your choice: The price of each kit is indicated.

                          Individual Research Project          No charge

                          Bridge Kit                                     $6.00

                          Helicopter                                      $3.00

To register, simply return the lower half of this sheet in an envelope with cash or check to your Science Teacher  by December 6, 2013. Please label the envelope: Attn. Mr. Ed Kudasick, Fair “Co-Chairman”.

Kits will be available for those who have registered.

Name (print)___________________________________      Amount enclosed $ ____________

 

Grade__________ School___________________________ Phone No.____________________


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             ELEMENTS  OF  A  SUCCESSFUL  RESEARCH  PROJECT

 

  1. PICK A PROJECT TO STUDY – Select a project that you are interested in and would like to learn more about.. A project that as far as you know has never been done. Originality tends to win over judges.
  2. DO A BACKGROUND SEARCH – You need to learn as much as possible about the subject before you carry out any research. This will help you come up with a hypothesis, an appropriate method to test your hypothesis, and help you to draw conclusions about your results. Be sure to include this information on your display.
  3. FORMULATE A HYPOTHESIS – Include a paragraph or two on what you feel will be the outcome of your test. Your hypothesis may prove to be wrong by your test. This does not necessarily mean that you have a flaw in your results. Remember, the Scientific Method requires that you must enter a test completely free of any pre-determined outcome.
  4. DOCUMENT YOUR WORK – Always keep good records in a laboratory notebook. You need to be able to prove that your results are true and correct. Your notes should show all of the procedures used and the results of those procedures documented, both good and bad. Summaries and conclusions for each experiment should be recorded in your notebook.
  5. DESIGN YOUR EXPERIMENTS TO TEST YOUR HYPOTHESIS – Design several experiments to test your hypothesis using more than one strategy. Use appropriate control groups to act as a comparison. Do not change more than one variable for each test that you run!
  6. RESULTS – Results are the data generated by your experiments. Always repeat your tests to ensure reproducibility. It’s best to use SI units of grams, liters, meters, and etc. Be sure to use a sufficient number of  samples in your test based on commonly used statistics to avoid results based on chance.
  7. EVALUATE YOUR RESULTS – Look closely at your results to determine any inconsistencies. Your results may lead you to additional questions to evaluate or approach by additional tests. Judges are frequently impressed by carrying your study a step further.
  8. CONCLUSIONS – Try to decipher the information that you have collected from your data. Frequently there may be more than one answer. Do you need to do additional research based on your results?

 

Research Paper

   
        Research Paper:    A formal written presentation of Research Project.
         It should contain the following:

        Introduction- State your topic, your hypothesis, what you hope to achieve.

        Background- A general introduction to the subject and why you chose to study it.

        Hypothesis-  A brief statement about what you expect will be the outcome

       Methods- Describe the procedure followed to test your hypothesis. 
        A person should be able to repeat your test from your description.

       Results-  Describe the results that you obtained from your experiment with photos, tables,
         figures, and graphs as well as your written description.

       Discussion- Explain in detail how the data supports or refutes your hypothesis.

       Conclusion-  Why was your hypothesis supported or not supported.

       Acknowledgments and References-  List the people and literature sources utilized.

Project Display

       Prepare a Project Display-  Your display board should include the following:

       Prominent title of Research Project

       Include all of the information discussed previously

       Briefly summarize your entire project in a logical sequence

       Text should be large enough to be easily read

       Use a printer if possible

       Use photos, figures, tables, and graphs to describe your data

       Include items used in your tests, as well as your Lab Notebook

       
and Research Paper

 

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