STEAM FAIR Guidelines
This year's STEAM Fair will consist of science, engineering and art projects done at home.
We are adding art into this year’s fair to inspire creative thinking to STEM projects and ignite students’ imagination and creativity through the arts. We can also explore where art naturally fits into the STEM subjects. Studying art subjects contributes to the development of essential skills like collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking. It also enhances a student’s flexibility, adaptability, productivity, responsibility, and innovation. Students can choose to incorporate art into their science or engineering project or develop a piece of art by going through the creative process.
The purpose of the STEAM Fair is to provide an opportunity for student’s think critically and combine math, science, art, engineering and reading skills. This page will provide you with guidelines and tips for completing and presenting a project.
Students can present their projects by video, presentation or pictures and we will post them on social media and the Chambers PTA website. The STEAM fair will run all year so you can participate when it fits into your life.
Members of the PTA will meet via Google Meets with students to help pick a project (if desired) and help through the planning and implementation. Once the student has chosen a project, the PTA can provide materials if needed.
More information on types of science, art and engineering projects and the presentations is below. Contact Tricia at volunteer@chambersprimarypta.com if you have questions about the Virtual STEAM Fair or would like assistance.
Coming Up With An Idea
Develop an idea about something that interests you. You can get books from public library, talk with family and friends or contact Tricia to discuss project ideas!
The links below have science, engineering and art project ideas. Keep an eye out for ones appropriate for your grade level.
Education.com Science Fair Project Ideas
Julian Trubin's Science Fair Projects (engineering projects under award winning)
40 of the Best Art Projects for Kids
Pierce County Library Free Resources (must have login)
What is the Difference Between A Science, Engineering and Art Project?
Art can be combined into science and engineering. In general science, engineering and art follow the these processes.
Science process: follows the scientific method and test a hypothesis.
Engineering process: identify a need or problem to be solved and design a solution that could take the form of a drawing, a model or prototype, or writing or using a program.
Creative process: follows a creative process with an end product of developing a piece of art (drawing, painting, music, writing etc). Art can also be incorporated into the science and engineering projects.
How to Complete a Science Project
These videos explains the process well. In general, the steps are:
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Think of an idea for something you are curious about.
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Develop a testable question (How does an INPUT affect the OUTPUT?")
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Develop theory or answer to your testable question (your hypothesis).
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Develop an experiment to test your hypothesis. Try to have only one variable.
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Implement the experiment and record the data in a notebook.
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Examine your results – did you prove or disprove your hypothesis.
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Develop a conclusion.
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Present the process and conclusion on board for the fair.
How to Complete an Engineering Project
Engineering is an iterative process. This website describes the process in detail. In general, the process is:
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Define a need; express as a goal
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Establish design criteria and constraints
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Evaluate alternative designs
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Build a prototype of best design
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Test and evaluate the prototype using the design criteria
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Analyze test results, make design changes, and retest
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Communicate the design
How to Complete an Art Project
This website describes the process in detail. In general the process is:
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Look for inspiration (nature, artist, building, etc)
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Refine your idea - Decide your final drawing / sketch.
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Get your supplies and space ready.
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Create your design.
Reflections and Presentations
The purpose of the presentation is to take time to reflect on what you learned and share it with the broader community. Presentation of projects will look different this year. We intend to post the presentations on this website and/or social media. Your student can also choose to do a project and not share it. However, we recommend at the very least that an adult walk through the process they went through and what they learned. Let us know if you want assistance with anything related to the reflection and presentation. The presentation can take a variety of forms:
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Video presentation of your process, what you did and what you learned.
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Complete a typical poster board and take a picture. Then take and share pictures of the board. We have created a pdf with guidelines for how to create your display board.
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Complete an online presentation in whatever format you choose (Google Slides, PowerPoint, PDF, etc).
Regional and State Science and Engineering Fair Requirements
If you are interested in the state or regional science and engineering fairs check out the websites below for experiment and presentation requirements, judging criteria, and registration. The instructions on this site are for a simplified science and engineering fair and do not meet all the requirements of the regional/state fairs.
Caregiver Involvement
Contact Tricia at volunteer@chambersprimarypta.com if you have any questions about the Virtual STEAM Fair.