Growsmart Science Competitions

Blackheath Primary School – Elrtha Vaax, Emihle Chaza, Alia Israel Photo: Jessica Miller

This year, for the first time, there will be a science competition that will run alongside the normal Growsmart literacy competition, although it will be completely separate from it. The science competition, called Growsmart Scientist, will be for teams of three learners from the participating Growsmart schools. They must not be the same learners as those competing in any other Growsmart competition, or if they have competed in any previous Growsmart competitions.

Identifying a Problem:

Come up with ideas to identify a problem and then think about a possible solution. Think about things that people (whether children or adults) find difficult, frustrating or nuisance. How can we solve the problem? Here are some ideas, but your imagination is the only limit:

Electricity or water saving devices
Recycling for school or home
How to make household chores easier
Sports training or exercise machines
Easier ways to travel
Easy ways to care for pets
An awesome computer to make learning easier or to help your teacher

Finding Solutions Once you have an idea in mind for a problem that you would like to solve, it’s time to start brainstorming. Create a mind-map with your problem and your possible solution (your invention).

Competition Rules:

Only one team per school. Teams consist of three learners (in Grades 4 to 6) and they must be supervised by a mentor.
The mentor can guide, help and get involved. They can help gather materials, supervise the project/experiment and even help build the display board and/or model. But they can’t help during the judging process.
Teams will be judged on their display board and/or model, and their oral presentation.
The oral presentation must be limited to 10 minutes at the most, 5 minutes for speaking about the project and the rest for the judges to ask questions.
All decisions of the judges are final.

The Oral Presentation:

Teams should try to relax, smile and have fun. Helpful hints:

Look sharp, feel sharp and you will be sharp. Dress in your school uniform. Be polite and speak clearly. Don’t forget to look at the judges.
Introduce yourself. Point to the title of your display. Tell the judges why you chose the subject of your project.
Talk about what you learned while researching your project. Talk about the sources (books, websites, interviews, etc.) that helped you understand your topic.
Explain the steps you took to conduct your experiments, if you did any. Be sure to mention all the materials involved and point out the pictures that you may have taken.
Try to sound like an expert on your project. Always use the appropriate vocabulary, especially by using words from the Scientific Method, such as: Problem, Hypothesis, Procedure, Results and Conclusions.

JUDGING PROCESS

Teams receives a schedule at the beginning of the Level 1 judging round that indicates when they can expect a judges.
The interviews take place in 15-minute time slots; 10-minutes are allocated for the interview, followed by a 5-minute period to write down comments and move on to the next team.

Judging criteria:

The projects will be evaluated based on three major criteria: scientific thought, originality and creativity, and communication. The most weight is given to scientific thought and original creativity. The project display and presentation are important in that they should demonstrate the student’s ability to communicate concepts, methods, and results relevant to the work presented. The prettiness or flashiness of the display is of far less value in the ranking process.
Scientific thought (60%): The judges will evaluate the scientific thought in the design, analysis, and interpretation of the work. New, original experimental research will get marked on a higher level than projects that duplicate existing work.

Originality and creativity (10%): The judges will determine whether the project shows a novel approach and uses creativity in its design. Did the student think outside of the box to answer the research question or develop a new prototype, or was there limited imagination put into the project?
Communication (30%): Communication is evaluated based on four components: the visual display, the oral presentation, the project report with background research and the logbook. The display, report, and logbook should be logical, self-explanatory, complete, and reflect the student’s scientific skill. The oral presentation will be evaluated based on the student’s enthusiasm, ability to effectively communicate findings, and ability to answer questions.