All Projects Should Have:

• Project / Lab Notebook - This is where you keep track of your work as you go. It can be digital, but we recommend using paper. Suggestions for setting up your project notebook can be found here.
• Oral Presentation - This is your 2-4 minute pitch about your project to the Science Fair judges. You don’t have much time so you'd need to be concise and focused. Make sure you practice. Review these tips.
• Display Board - This is the physical, visual display you’ll use for your presentation, typically a tri-fold board organized like the one below works best. Suggestions for formatting and display can be found here.

Middle-School Projects Should Also Try to Have:

• Plan - If you are a middle-school student and plan to participate in the regional or state fair, then you will need a research plan that is approved BEFORE you start your project - Form 1A & 1B (C and D, if needed). You will submit your project plan in the answers to your questions on the forms that you submit for approval. But it's a great idea for everyone to come up with a research plan first so that you can be sure your project is safe and doable. Suggestions can be found here.
• Report - This is your written report of your project where you describe your process, research and analysis. It may not be required at the regional fair level, but we recommend creating at least a draft because it can help you think through how you present your work. You’ll also want to list your research sources. Guides are available both for an Engineering Project and a Science Project.
• Abstract - An abstract is a short summary of your project. While the Middle School Fairs do not require the abstract, it can be good practice to have a summary. If you go to other science fairs, you are often asked for a project description and so the abstract can serve as that for you. Suggestions can be found here.

The Middle-School Science Fair club is helping prepare students for participation in the Hayes Fair and regional & State chapters of MSEF. For questions or to join the club, reach out to Ms. Mooradian, (6-7th grade Science teacher, melissa_mooradian@psbma.org).