NWACHEA

Start planning now for NWACHEA’s Science and Education Fair, scheduled for Friday, March 30th, at the Jones Center food court.  Judging will begin at 1 p.m., and exhibitors may begin setting up displays around 12:30. For each grade (preK – 12th), there will be 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place ribbons awarded. We will have more judges than previous years, with the same judges evaluating all exhibits for a particular age group.

ALL homeschool students are invited to participate. There is no fee for NWACHEA members. For non-members, there is a $5 fee (per student) to help defray expenses.

DEADLINE TO SIGN-UP is March 15th; no exceptions will be made to this date. Please contact Amy Calhoun to register, or with any questions about the Fair. She will need to know the name and grade level of each child participating.

An exhibit may be about ANY topic appropriate for the classroom: Science, Math, Sewing, Music, Sports, Cooking, History, Art, etc. Students may draw their own pictures or create their own exhibits from scratch. For example, a student once drew small portraits of all the presidents. Students may also use items purchased at educational stores. such as bulletin board cut outs or models. One student brought a 3-D puzzle of the U.S. Capitol, assembled it, and told how a bill becomes a law on his display board. Another purchased a model bridge kit, and assembled examples of three types of bridges which he presented with a written report.

Judges will score the exhibits based on the following: Creativity, Thought, Thoroughness, Skill/Age Appropriateness, and Clarity/Neatness

GUIDELINES:

1. All exhibits should have a display board that explains the student’s project. (Even a decorated cake should have a board discussing steps of making the cake, baking, cooling, decorating, etc.) Display boards are available at Hobby Lobby or Wal Mart.

2. The display board should not be larger than 3 ft. high by 4 ft. wide. Each student may use about two feet of space in front of his board to display items related to his project. The tables at the Jones Center are small squares, with each table holding 2 exhibits back-to-back.

3. Display boards should have a title.

4. Parents will need to encourage, provide ideas and materials, and direct the child’s efforts – but the student should do the work to complete the project. A judge can tell if the exhibit is age-appropriate, and higher marks will be given if the work was clearly done by the student. Parents can teach a child how to use a computer, a ruler, or stencils, but should not do the work.

5. Students should be prepared to tell the judges what they learned while preparing their project. They should be able to pronounce the words on their display board, and demonstrate that they understand the material presented.