Course Description

Science Research Program – Grades 9, 10, 11, 12


Full Year – Level H: Incoming freshman and sophomore students must apply for admission to this program in January of the prior academic year. Acceptance into the program will be based on a science teacher recommendation, a written essay, and excellent academic grades.


This is an ongoing program that is taken in conjunction with the student’s regular science course. There are several tiers to the program. During Year 1 students learn the components of scientific research including the scientific method and apply these concepts in various settings including designing and conducting an authentic science research project and communicating results by participation in at least one local science fair. Students also explore various applications of science topics through field trips, guest speakers and class projects. Advanced students (Years 2-4) select their science research topic, locate an out-of-school mentor (either in industry or at a local university) and compete in a variety of science fairs including the CT State Science Fair, Southern CT Invitational Science and Engineering Fair (SCSEF) and the CT Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (CT JSHS). Advanced students pursue their selected research in depth, perform statistical analysis and compete at a number of local and/or national science fairs and competitions. In Years 2, 3, and 4 students are grouped together in a non-traditional classroom setting and are required to meet individually outside of class with their Science Research Instructor biweekly to review individual goals and assess progress. All students participate in the culminating annual activity, Amity’s Science Symposium.


Monday, April 29, 2013

2013 Norwalk Science Fair


Please reflect on the following (each question in detail):

1.  What was your overall impression of the Norwalk Fair? Specifically, what things did you enjoy about the fair? Did the fair meet your expectations? In what ways was it similar or different to what you anticipated or experienced in the past?

2.  What was the judging process like? Were the judges fair and helpful?

3.  What was the most helpful comment from the Judges? Least helpful?

4.  How was the food (pizza and soda)? 

5.  In what way do you think the Mock Science Fair helped prepare you for the Fair?

6.  Did you learn anything new about your project? If so, what can you do to improve it for the next fair? Did you have time to view other student projects? Which project(s) left a lasting impression? why?

7.  Did you talk to students from other schools? Explain.

Thank you!

35 comments:

  1. Ben Staniewicz
    1. The fair was pretty close to how I expected it to be. It was fun and presentation was easy. My only complaint is that there were no chairs and I had to stand the entire time.
    2. For the first round of judging, the judges were fair and didn’t ask any questions I didn’t know the answer to. They seemed interested but didn’t ask any complex questions. For the final round of judging, the judges seemed more interested. One guy in the back was nodding (agreeing) to everything we said. He asked a question we didn’t know the answer to and was a good thing to know for future work.
    3. The most helpful comment was when the judge asked the question I didn’t know the answer to. The least helpful was when the judges asked a question about something they were unclear. It was still useful so I’d know to be clearer in the future but didn’t affect me much.
    4. The pizza was good and there was plenty of it. My only complaint was that there was a lot of soda and no water (that I saw).
    5. The mock science fair was before we had any results and that was the part I presented. The mock science fair didn’t affect me really but may have affected Andrew. He had to take up all the parts of everyone else and it would have been a lot of work.
    6. I didn’t learn much about my project or anyone else’s. I wanted to stay by my poster so I only was able to see a few projects.
    7. While waiting for the final round of judging, Andrew and I were talking with other students. We found out what projects people had, what schools they were from, and where they planned on going to college.

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  2. 1. I like how relaxed it was. Great first fair.
    2. My judges had forgotten about me, so they were rushing and didn't have any questions.
    3. They really didn't make any comments.
    4. Not bad at all.
    5. It helped me learn the skills necessary to engage a small crowd with my presentation.
    6. I learned nothing new.
    7. One guy had an interesting project on frogs across from me. I talked to him. His name was Josh and he was from Greenwich.

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  3. 1. I liked Norwalk science fair. It was very calm and relaxing there since there wasn't very many people. It was annoying that i had to stand during the entire thing ,but i got used to it after a while, improvising by leaning on my table and other things.

    2. The judges were very helpful with their tips and the ones i had were very knowledgeable. They were very relaxed which helped me calm down and i felt that because of this, i presented better.

    3. The judge said that i should talk more about what i used for my study. (The video game and the hand-eye coordination test) At Scicef, i was sure to explain it more.

    4. The pizza and soda was good ,but the soda was warm and the pizza was cold.

    5. The mock science fair allowed me to get familiar with my poster and i knew what i was going to say before i even arrived at Norwalk.

    6. I did not learn any thing new about my project ,but in the future i would make sure that i would go more in depth with the materials and objects that i used.

    7. I talked a little to students from other schools. I learned that some of them were going to be a Scicef the next day. I saw a few of them there.

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  4. Matthew McKenna
    #1: My overall impression of the fair was very good. The judges were nice and respectful, and they helped me along in my presentation. The science fair was not what I expected because I expected it to be much larger, and I thought that we would all be in one room. I had never been to a science fair before this one.
    #2: The judging process went very well. The judges offered many suggestions, and they were always respectful towards my project. They were very fair, and they gave m,e many ideas as to what I should have done with my project.
    #3: The most helpful comment from the judges was their comment on statistics. I had never heard about using statistics to analyze my data, and this is something I should do in the future. The judges had only helpful comments, and none stood out as worse than the others.
    #4: The pizza and soda was very good, much better than the food at Scisef.
    #5: I think the mock science fair helped me prepare for Norwalk because it was the first time I had presented my project when other presentations were occurring at the same time, and it helped me prepare for the background noise.
    #6: I learned that I should use statistics in my data analysis, and I can use this for my next fairs. I did view other projects, but none of them made a lasting impression because I could not understand most of them.
    #7: I did not talk to any of the students from the other schools.

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  5. 1) the science fair in Norwalk was very fun and it was good practice for scisef. Something I liked about it is that it was very close quarters so I was able to talk to friends without straying from posters.

    2) the judging process was very good. My judges were also very chill and made some very nice suggestions and comments.

    3) I can't remember specific comments

    4) the food was very good. The best part was that there was plenty of food to have as much as you wanted.

    5) the mock science fair was very helpful because we were able to present with our posters and not with a power point.

    6) i did not learn anything new about my project.

    7) I did not talk to students from other schools.

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  6. 1. I thought the Norwalk Fair was very calm and a great fair to be my first one. I enjoyed how the atmosphere wasn’t nerve-wracking due to the small amount of projects. It met my expectations. I thought it was a nice beginning for me and allowed me to transition to SCISEF more smoothly.
    2. The judging process was fine, but I would’ve preferred another set of judges. The judges were helpful in their comments, but they did not ask any complex or really meaningful questions or suggestions. The judges were fair.
    3. The most helpful comment was that I had to enforce parts of my poster more. The least helpful comment was that I had to clarify my title. Overall, the comments weren’t impactful or tremendously helpful.
    4. The pizza was tasty and I appreciated the soda, however I would’ve liked water.
    5. The Mock Science Fair helped prepare my vocal skills and how to present my poster to an audience. It helped me talk loudly while other projects were being presented simultaneously.
    6. I didn’t learn anything new about my project. Luckily, I had time to view other student projects. Jordan’s project on cancer detecting algorithms left a lasting impression. Her research was fascinating, I love health related research and with personal relations to cancer, I thought her project was useful. Also, Reed Morgan’s project was very interesting. His impressive speaking abilities and his enthusiasm for his project made listening to him enjoyable.
    7. I talked to the students next to me, including a senior at Greenwich and a student doing a project on waves, and I talked to Reed Morgan.
    1. I thought the Norwalk Fair was very calm and a great fair to be my first one. I enjoyed how the atmosphere wasn’t nerve-wracking due to the small amount of projects. It met my expectations. I thought it was a nice beginning for me and allowed me to transition to SCISEF more smoothly.
    2. The judging process was fine, but I would’ve preferred another set of judges. The judges were helpful in their comments, but they did not ask any complex or really meaningful questions or suggestions. The judges were fair.
    3. The most helpful comment was that I had to enforce parts of my poster more. The least helpful comment was that I had to clarify my title. Overall, the comments weren’t impactful or tremendously helpful.
    4. The pizza was tasty and I appreciated the soda, however I would’ve liked water.
    5. The Mock Science Fair helped prepare my vocal skills and how to present my poster to an audience. It helped me talk loudly while other projects were being presented simultaneously.
    6. I didn’t learn anything new about my project. Luckily, I had time to view other student projects. Jordan’s project on cancer detecting algorithms left a lasting impression. Her research was fascinating, I love health related research and with personal relations to cancer, I thought her project was useful. Also, Reed Morgan’s project was very interesting. His impressive speaking abilities and his enthusiasm for his project made listening to him enjoyable.
    7. I talked to the students next to me, including Josh, a senior at Greenwich and I talked to Reed Morgan.

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  7. I thought the Norwalk fair would be a lot bigger than it turned out to be. The fair seemed even smaller because the entrants were separated in two groups. However, I liked being in a smaller environment. Because it was my first fair, I didn’t have any other experiences before this one.
    The judges didn’t ask too many questions, and didn’t seem to have much knowledge of my experiment. They were very fair and asked relatively easy questions, which was relieving.
    The judges pointed out a lot of flaws that I already knew, but forgot to change from making the poster. Most of their comments were helpful because they reminded me of what I needed to do for SCISEF the next day.
    The food was fine and relatively conveniently served after all of the presentations.
    The Mock science fair was almost exactly like the Norwalk fair, except for not knowing when you would have to present. Mock science fairs like the one we did in class were very helpful in preparing me for Norwalk.
    I didn’t learn much about the finer points of my project or how to expand on it. Most of the judges’ comments concerned with info I already had on the poster. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see any other student projects thoroughly as I walked around.
    I spent most of my time talking with the other Amity students rather than the students from other schools.
    Vinnie Silverman

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  8. 1. I had an overall okay impression of the Norwalk science fair. I enjoyed that the atmosphere was very relaxed and laid back. The fair was a little different from my expectations. The waiting time was quite extensive.
    2. During the judging process, I was assessed only once. They made me talk immediately, which did not give me enough time to think my presentation through and present well. Out of the two judges, one did not seem interested at all. The judges were fair, but not too helpful because they did not offer any suggestions about improvements I could make on my project.
    3. The judges did not really make any helpful comments. Their questions and comments were made more in regards to elaboration and clarification.
    4. The food was good and filling.
    5. The Mock Science Fair helped me prepare for the fair because it allowed me to experience a little bit of how the set up and crowd would be.
    6. No, I did not learn anything new about my project. The judges did not make me aware of any improvements I could make. I was able to get a glimpse of other projects, but not really a long enough view to get a lasting impression.
    7. I did not talk to students from other schools.

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  9. I thought the fair was better than SCISEF. The one in Norwalk wasn't as crowded and rushed. Also since there was one judging period it was more convenient. I expected more people to show up but it met my expectations. The judging process went smoothly and I was there on time for my presentation. The judges didn't seem so interested in my project because one just kept on shaking her head. The judges only asked me about statistics and gave not helpful advice. I personally didn't like the food. The preparation in class helped me because it helped me know how long to speak and what to say and I was comfortable speaking with the them. I did not learn anything new because the judges didn't give any advice. I did speak with an other student from other school but it wasn't about the fair though.

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  10. I thought that the norwalk science fair was not as fantastic as scisef, however i still
    enjoyed it. I felt that the space that it was held was a little cramped and uncomfortable. I also didn't like that it was on a week day. Norwalk was the first science fair that i attended so i thought that it was interesting.

    The judges at norwalk seemed fair And kind, however there didnt really give me any good feed back.

    The judges didnt actually give me any comments except that my project was interesting and creative

    I didnt have any pizza, but i thought the selection of soda was good

    The mock science fair helped me talk more confidently and clearly and be a better overall presenter

    I did not learn anything new or different about my project

    I did not have a chance to talk to any of the other students but they seemed nice

    Helen Ruckes

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  11. Ever since the nature walk freshman year, I have never enjoyed NCC too much. This year was no different. It seemed the judges had limited understanding of basic biological science practices. For example, one of the judges repeatedly asked me about the symptoms of the mice after the mice were sacrificed. He did not seem to understand that dead mice do not have symptoms. This was definitely the least helpful remark from the judge. The food was fine, when it was finally served. The Mock Science Fair taught me what the most important things that I should leave my audience with were. That is, I learned to focus my time on things the audience could understand, spending less time on things like the procedure and more on future applications. I did not get the chance to look at other people’s posters, but I did get the chance to catch up with one of my fellow debaters, Reed.

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  12. Harsha

    1. What was your overall impression of the Norwalk Fair? Specifically, what things did you enjoy about the fair? Did the fair meet your expectations? In what ways was it similar or different to what you anticipated or experienced in the past?p
    -I thought the science fair went well. I enjoyed the presenting my poster it was really fun. The fair met my expectations. It was different from other fair because it was not organized and judges came early.

    2. What was the judging process like? Were the judges fair and helpful?
    the judging process was awesome the judges were just about half hour early. The judges were nice and really helpful
    3. What was the most helpful comment from the Judges? Least helpful?
    - how to redesign my turbine to make it more efficient and how to control the movement.

    4. How was the food (pizza and soda)?
    The pizza was good.

    5. In what way do you think the Mock Science Fair helped prepare you for the Fair?
    - it helped me with getting an understanding the questions judges will ask and what information I should elaborate on.

    6. Did you learn anything new about your project? If so, what can you do to improve it for the next fair? Did you have time to view other student projects? Which project(s) left a lasting impression? why?
    - I did learn that I should have a unbalance effect and see its effect. I did view some projects. The lasting impression was the archeology project because it was diffrent from other products

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  13. I enjoyed Norwalk Science Fair because it was light and fun. I enjoyed talking to the judges and relaxing afterwards. Last year was more stressful as I had to present in a room full of judges. This year I skipped the second group of judging and still got an honorable mention. The judges gave good suggestions to improve my study. The most helpful comment was to add criteria to the definition of self-efficacy. I found all the comments very helpful. The pizza and soda was very enjoyable. The mock science fair gave me more practice. I learned to speak more effectively and to add details to my presentation. For instance, they suggested that I speak about the statistical comparison between each level of education. I did not get a chance to look at other projects. I talked to no other students there.

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  14. Norwalk Science Fair was a very informal and relaxed fair, making it enjoyable. The fair held up to past comments that I had heard about its atmosphere and judging, though it seemed just as I had imagined it. The judges in the fair were helpful, but not very fair in their judging. They seemed very disinterested in my project (not even fake interest) and eventually stopped my presentation before I presented the data in order to give me the helpful advice to increase the timeframe of my project and to compare data more intensively with environmental factors. This was the most helpful comment they gave, however, their presentation of the comment (“Your project might be interesting if … “) and their abrupt dismissal of my project was kind of disheartening. The yummylicious food made up for this, but I still thought I had clarified and found the important points of my project in the Mock Science Fair. The archaeology project (Reed Morgan) was pretty interesting, as it was not just another strictly science-based project and also had a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable presenter. However, I made no direct verbal contact with students from other schools, as they were so scarce and the Amity sphere of influence was so great.

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  15. Jacob Gibbons-Morales

    1. I enjoyed the Norwalk science fair. I was nice to be able to present my project and also talk to friends. Also it was nice that it was not crowded. I was told by other what to expect so my expectations were correct.

    2. The judges were nice. They seemed interested in my project. They were helpful in giving me ideas on how to do my project.

    3. The most helpful comment was about other things I could have recorded like the preferred foot of the player. The least helpful, comment was that one of my judges didn't like how I didn't have an even amount of data points for the categories. That judges didn't really understand my project. But the other was very knowledgeable about soccer.

    4. The pizza was a bit greasy for my taste and I didn't drink the soda

    5. The mock science fair helped prepare me for the science fair by giving me practice in presenting my project. I felt confident in what I was saying because of all the practice.

    6. Most of the improvements I had already thought of. With more time they could have been implemented. I didn't really look at other peoples projects.

    7. I didn't talk to students from other schools.

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  16. Victoria Li

    1. I thought it was really fun because there weren't that many people there, and I could talk to my friends.

    2. The judges were nice, and they gave me a lot of helpful feedback as to how to improve my project, and seemed interested in it.

    3. What was the most helpful comment from the Judges? Least helpful?

    4. Maybe it's just me, but I like pizza and soda.

    5. The mock science fair was similar to the Norwalk Science Fair, and therefore prepared me for it.

    6. I learned that I could make my project more similar to the real thing, and how to do so.

    7. I didn't talk to anyone from other schools.

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  17. Patrick Neumann

    1. I enjoyed the Norwalk Science Fair very much. It was a fun trip that was very serious, yet that let me have fun at the same time.

    2. The judges were very nice. They looked at my poster for a couple minutes before I presented. They also looked at it while I was presenting. They asked easy questions that were not very confusing.

    3. The most helpful comment that they said was that my project was tested very well. However, they also said that many parts of it were flawed.

    4. The pizza was somewhat cold, and the soda was warm. It wasn't very good at all.

    5. The mock science fair gave me an chance to practice my presentation, showing me what I was doing good, and what I need to do.

    6. Yes, I learned that my project wasn't the most accurate on my topic. I also learned that there were still some things that I had to change that I did not learn from the mock science fair.

    7. I did not talk to students from other schools

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  18. Haseeb Khan

    1. I found it fun. I was able to talk to my friends while waiting for the judges to come and relax my nerves. Also, I had plenty of time to practice my presentation. I enjoyed the fact that the science fair was relatively small and that the participants were divided in two different groups.

    2. The judging process was fairly "bad." The judges came extremely late and didn't really pay attention to what I was saying.

    3. The judges made no comments on my project since I was the last person they were seeing.

    4. The pizza and the soda were good.

    5. The Mock Science Fair was a small group presenting their projects one-on-one or one-on-two. The Norwalk Fair was pretty small with about thirty people each in room and the presenting was one-on-one, too. The Mock Science Fair helped me prepare for the Norwalk because both were fairly relaxed, quiet and small.

    6. I learned nothing new about my project.

    7. No, I did not talk to students from any other schools.

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  19. I really enjoyed the science fair. I liked that everything ran smoothly . The fair met my expectations. I thought that the overall fair was good, but there was a long wait for the food and that disappointing. The judges were nice and they were very respectful when I was presenting. I thought they asked me good questions. They said I had a very good idea for a project. They didn't have a least helpful question. I thought the pizza was good. The Mock Science fair helped me practice presenting. I learned that I could have looked deeper into my topic and taken a closer look at the details. I didn't talk to other people from other schools.

    Ryan Oleynik

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  20. 1. I had a fun time at Norwalk Science Fair this year. I liked how the system was set up for poster set ups and judging.
    2. The judging process was decent. My judges were nice but during my presentation, there were a lot of people around me being judged so it was hard for my judges to hear me and vice versa.
    3. My judges said positive things about my project and mentioned the things they liked, such as how it was a novel and innovative idea but didn’t say anything that was irrelevant to my project.
    4. The pizza was tasty and the soda was good as well.
    5. The Mock Science Fair helped me for Norwalk by giving me enough practice for presenting. It helped me work on any faults I had in my verbal presentations and helped me to present without looking at my poster.
    6. I learned that I accidently put a comma instead of a period on my poster, so I would need to make sure no such typos happen in the future. I had time to look at other projects and came across an archaeological project, which caught my eye because I always see projects about chemicals or human vertebrates but never about archaeology.
    7. Yes I did and I learned some new things and recent research they read about which might help me for my future projects.

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  21. 1. Norwalk Science Fair is a fun, casual, and more laid back version of SCISEF. I enjoyed getting to practice presenting and being able to have fun with my friends in science research. The fair met my expectations as it was exactly how I remembered it in past years.

    2. The judging process was extremely unorganized. While the judges seemed fair, they were ultimately unhelpful. It was just good practice presenting.

    3. None of my judges really commented on my project. They just asked questions about some of the basics of my experiment.

    4. The pizza was bad but I love a cold Coca Cola in my hand.

    5. I think the Mock Science fair was very helpful preparing me for this fair as it was a small step above the mock science fair.

    6. I did not learn anything new about my project, and sadly I did not get to see any other projects.

    7. I did not talk to people from other schools.

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  22. 1) The Norwalk Fair was very fun to attend. I was able to walk around and look at other projects. I enjoyed meeting new people and learning about their projects. The fair did meet my expectation and was very similar to what it was like last year.
    2) The judging process was alright. The judges were somewhat to themselves and not very helpful.
    3) The judges didn’t really comment on my project but told me to repeat my future studies. They weren’t really helpful.
    4) The food was good. I liked the soda but the pizza had a bit too much oil on it.
    5) The Mock Science Fair helped get the advice of others to improve presentation skills and the poster. It was a good preparation for the science fair.
    6) I didn’t really learn anything new about my project. A experiment that stood out to me was the one including the growth of tadpoles depending on their environment. This project should how a little change can cause a lot of trouble.
    7) Yes, I talked to this other student. I don’t remember his name but we talked about our projects and schools.

    -Vimratha

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  23. Gabrielle Totten

    1.) Norwalk this year was just like Norwalk last year. I enjoyed the free pizza and talking to students from other schools. I did not like how there wasn't a specific time that the judges were scheduled to come.


    2.)I had two judges and one in particular was very helpful. There was a question I had not been able to adequately answer and she came to me after she had finished judging everyone and gave me some addition information which I implemented during SCISEF.

    3.) As I said earlier, one of my judges took extra time to come and help me out and the information she gave me on HPV was very helpful. There was nothing that wasn't helpful.

    2.) The food was good but then again, pizza is always good J

    5.) The mock science fair showed me that my method of attaching my printout to my poster was not a very good one.

    6.) I learned more about HPV from one of my judges which was good. I didn't really look at many other projects.

    7. I talked to a few students from other schools. One of them was named reed and the other josh. Both were seniors and could tell me about their past science fair experiences.

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  24. Joseph Neumann

    Note: this may actually appear multiple times, blogging on my laptop has always been a bit iffy

    1. Overall l, I had a mostly positive impression of the Norwalk Science Fair. SPecifically, I enjoyed walking around and viewing other projects, as well as the long lunch-break session was pleasant considering how tense and on-edge I was before the session. In many ways, the fair met my expectations. I wasn't expecting a large deviation from the fair last year, and there really wasn't. There was nothing different this fair than the one from last year (besides the projects obviously).

    2. The judging process was very nerve-racking for me. I out a great deal of effort in my project, and I was hoping I would present well. To further add to my anxiety, many of the other projects were very noteworthy. The judges were actually very fair. Many of the questions often just surrounded me elaborating on a certain element of my experiment. The questions that actually dealt with my experiment in greater detail could be answered.

    3. The most helpful comment was that I was told to put more emphasis on the electrical properties of carbon nanotubes and discuss the incorporation of nanotubes in transistors. There weren't any comments that weren't helpful.

    4. The food was great. While I would have preferred higher quality pizza (Dominos!), I understand that that is just me being a bit picky.

    5. The mock science fair was an immense help because it helped me familiarize myself more with what concepts I should go more in depth into. It also helped me get better at presenting.

    6. I did not learn anything new about my project at the Norwalk Science fair. I was able to view several projects, many of which were interesting. Unfortunately, I don't remember many of the projects that well because I was looking for other student's posters (just to see how they did) and for projects dealing with carbon nanotubes (none besides Arvene D: )

    7. I did have time to talk with student from other schools. Several students were curious about my project so I presented to them. We then talked about each other's projects, but I sadly can't remember them very well.

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  25. SCISEF

    Matt Whitehill

    I thought the SCISEF Fair this year was a lot better than last year. I liked how projects were grouped by schools. Unlike fairs in the past, it felt a lot more organized. I also thought that overall, the judges this year were better.

    This year, I thought the judges were a lot better because they really focused on our presentation. Also, they were placed in diverse groups, so we were asked many good questions. Unlike last year, I felt like the judges this year were engaged in our work.

    The most helpful comment from our judges related to how to follow though with our proposal and what materials to use to convey our project more clearly. The judges this year didn't really give us any specifically unhelpful comments.

    I thought breakfast was ok but I didn't really like lunch. My sandwich was soggy, and I'm not a big fan of soggy sandwiches.

    I enjoyed the keynote speaker's presentation at first, but I thought it was a little too long. I think the keynote speaker should only talk for about half an hour.

    The mock science fair introduced us to the areas we needed to work on presenting.

    Being in a team, I was always learning something new about our project. The way we've set up our presentation, each member has a area of specialty (the area that we present), so listening to our own presentation is a learning experience.

    I didn't really talk to kids from other schools because they didn't really look like they wanted to be talked to. Also, the layout of the fair made it awkward to do so.

    Next year, I think the awards need to be set up on stage ASAP. It took way to long to get the awards together and the audience was starting to get impatient.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Matt Kachmar
    5/1/13

    What was your overall impression of the Norwalk Fair? Specifically, what things did you enjoy about the fair? Did the fair meet your expectations? In what ways was it similar or different to what you anticipated or experienced in the past?

    I enjoyed the Norwalk Science fair because it was a good opportunity for me to learn how to present in a science fair. It was good so I could get used to presenting for the larger fair, SCISEF. Since that was my first fair, I can't really compare it to anything, but I liked the fact that it was a little more laid back than SCISEF.

    2. What was the judging process like? Were the judges fair and helpful?

    The judges were nice, they tried to help me come up with a future study for my project. They were fair, and helpful, as they tried to give me feedback on what I did well, and what I could do better at.

    3. What was the most helpful comment from the Judges? Least helpful?

    The most helpful comment from the judges was that I need to zero in on one variable and manipulate the experiment to test one thing, such as how engaging it is in comparison to the classroom. I don't think the judges gave me any comments that were not helpful at Norwalk.

    4. How was the food (pizza and soda)?

    The food was good. There was a lot of good pizza and soda. Always good.

    5. In what way do you think the Mock Science Fair helped prepare you for the Fair?

    The Mock Science Fair showed me how a science fair could be run. It helped show me how to get ready for presenting and what to say. My presentation was definitely more fluent because I practiced talking in front of my peers before the judges.

    6. Did you learn anything new about your project? If so, what can you do to improve it for the next fair? Did you have time to view other student projects? Which project(s) left a lasting impression? why?

    I learned that my project should be more of a simulation or Role Playing Game, that focusses on actually teaching skills to participants, and has only one variable. For the next fair, I will create a game that teaches more. I saw some other students' projects. There were some that were so in depth, I wasn't even able to really understand what they were about. The extent of knowledge they showed left a lasting impression.

    7. Did you talk to students from other schools? Explain.

    No, I did not really talk to other students, because I stuck with the people I knew from Amity...

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  27. 1) Overall I enjoyed Norwalk science fair. One thing that Norwalk science fair has that the rest don’t is that it is short and sweet. They don’t take to much time on anything and they try to run on schedule. The only other time I went to Norwalk science fair was when I was a freshman, but the fair didn’t seem to change at all since I last went.

    2) The judging process was very nice. Once the judges came around they listened intently and asked good questions at the end. The shared their personal knowledge on the topic and even gave me life suggestions about the areas of science that I was interested in. Overall the judging process went smooth.

    3) The judges gave me a few comments but not very many. If I had to pick the most helpful comment it would have to be when they suggested that I find a professor at my new school that is just as passionate as me on this topic and continue my research. The least helpful comment would have to be the one where the judge I think tried to ask me if I could work for him, it was really weird.

    4) The food was ok, but the pizza was cold. If the pizza was warmer it would have been great. Although overall the food wasn’t bad. They seemed to have bought way too much for the amount of people that were there. But having too much is better then not having enough.

    5) Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the mock science fair.

    8) No, I did not learn anything new about my project. I didn’t really have any time to look at others presentations because I came late and was the flustered because of it. Although, I did visit the Sikorsky poster and was pleasantly surprised with the changes that they made to the poster.

    7) Unfortunately I did not really talk to students from other schools as I was not near anyone from other schools and I feared to run off to far from my poster incase my judges came, although I would have loved to talk to other students from different schools about their projects.

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  28. REED MORGAN! It was like Norwalk every other year and I didn’t expect too much. I was actually very surprised that Sikorsky was able to cinch a finalist spot. The judges were okay, nothing really stood out and they didn’t really ask too many questions, especially during the first round of judging. However, one judge during finalist judging did seem to know his stuff. When we opened up our Sikorsky poster, he saw the title Corsair and exclaimed “Corsair! Yes!” He seemed to agree with everything we were saying and he would continuous nod his head. Ironically, he proceeded to ask us the toughest questions, some that even Ben couldn’t answer. The pizza was a little cold and stale by the time we got there, but it’s free food so I can’t complain. The Mock Science Fair really didn’t prepare us for this fair. In fact, we really were not completely prepared for this fair, or the presentation we were going to give until a few minutes before the fair started, considering I finished making the poster the night before. One thing that I learned was that Sikorsky is actually a competitive science research project, something I would not have ordinarily expected before. For the next fair, we should definitely work on strengthening our presentation and making sure everyone has their lines completely down and perfected. I did not have time to view any other student projects. And I talked to Reed Morgan from Darian, as well as other students from Darian who said they would “Sweep SCISEF.” It’s funny how things worked out. None of them were memorable except for Reed.

    Andrew Chen

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  29. Julia Goclowski

    1. Norwalk is a unique science fair because it is very casual. That is nice because it allows students to feel comfortable and have time to see other kids' projects. I enjoyed how nice everyone was at the fair and how interesting the projects entered were.

    2. My judges didn't really say much about my project except for asking for clarification a few times. They were both nice and seemed interested in my project. They said that my project was creative and good research. I wish that they had more feedback but I am happy with their responses.

    3. They suggested that I get more participants. I agree with this because I had less than what I wanted. I had already known this but this was a helpful comment.

    4. The food was really good. I liked the pizza and the drinks were good as well.

    5. The mock science fair prepared me for feeling comfortable in front of the judges and made me feel comfortable when answering questions. I also felt very prepared for my presentation.

    6. I learned that my participants should be more similar. For example have one gender and age group because teenage girls have different confidence levels than teenage boys. A project that I found interesting was looking at how a species of fish came up the coast and affected the marine ecosystem in CT. She was enthusiastic about her project and did good research.

    7. I talked with a student from Norwalk Community College which was nice because he was very interested in science. He asked me great questions about my project and helped me prepare for the judges' questions by asking similar questions. It was great knowing that students from the college were supporting the fair as well.

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  30. 1. What was your overall impression of the Norwalk Fair? Specifically, what things did you enjoy about the fair? Did the fair meet your expectations? In what ways was it similar or different to what you anticipated or experienced in the past?

    Norwalk was a very fun experience! Although the judging timing was very random and not scheduled, I was able to talk to some other students and they were not only friendly but their projects were amazing as well. It was similar to last year, the judges were pretty knowledgable of the judging procedure. Overall it was a great day, I'm glad I went.

    2. What was the judging process like? Were the judges fair and helpful?

    The judging process was fair in the judges themselves, but I was only judged for one round, I feel like increasing presentation amounts like SCISEF with two or even three rounds will help to get an accurate and precise score.


    3. What was the most helpful comment from the Judges? Least helpful?

    The most helpful comment from the judges was that they said I should explore even greater applications to my study. The least helpful was that they said my abstract had too many words.

    4. How was the food (pizza and soda)?

    The pizza was good, but I wish the ones that did not make it to the final round could be able to eat while the finalists were being judged. We spent a lot of money buying snacks and hanging around at the café.

    5. In what way do you think the Mock Science Fair helped prepare you for the Fair?

    The mock science fair helped me anticipate questions that could have been and we're asked by the judges, which helped me incorporate the answers into my presentation so the judges could better understand my project while I was explaining it.

    6. Did you learn anything new about your project? If so, what can you do to improve it for the next fair? Did you have time to view other student projects? Which project(s) left a lasting impression? why?

    The judges did not tell me much about improving my project, but they did comment on my poster presentation and how I could make it more appealing. They liked my use of the cylinder prop, but thought I should have included more photos. There was a student from Greenwich who had a project on testing different parts of corn and the amount of ethanol they produced, which I thought was very thoughtful. Typically when corn is used for human consumption the cob itself is not eaten. The cob produced a fairly high amount of ethanol, as well as the husk, both parts not used by humans. This is a good way of producing energy out of waste.

    7. Did you talk to students from other schools? Explain.

    I talked with two students from Greenwich High School, they were very friendly and told me about their school's SRP program and their projects.

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  31. 1. What was your overall impression of the Norwalk Fair? Specifically, what things did you enjoy about the fair? Did the fair meet your expectations? In what ways was it similar or different to what you anticipated or experienced in the past?

    Overall, I enjoyed Norwalk. As my first fair, it reinforced what I learned at the Mock Science Fair and it was the first time I presented in front of judges. It definitely got rid of some nerves!

    2. What was the judging process like? Were the judges fair and helpful?

    The judging process was very quick and laid back. The judges only gave me a few suggestions for future work. They were fair, but they did not give many comments.

    3. What was the most helpful comment from the Judges? Least helpful?

    The most helpful was to use a larger sample size. There was no least helpful comment!

    4. How was the food (pizza and soda)?

    The food was delicious, as always!

    5. In what way do you think the Mock Science Fair helped prepare you for the Fair?

    I think the Mock Science Fair helped me prepare for presenting to people that I don't know. I'm definitely more comfortable presenting to my friends, but the Mock Science Fair allowed me to experience what it is like presenting to people I'm not comfortable with.

    6. Did you learn anything new about your project? If so, what can you do to improve it for the next fair? Did you have time to view other student projects? Which project(s) left a lasting impression? why?

    No, I did not learn anything new about my project. I wish the judges gave more comments! I didn't get a change to view many other projects, but there was one project that claimed to invent a new pepper. The student experimented with various chemicals that make peppers spicy, which seemed very interesting and innovative.

    7. Did you talk to students from other schools? Explain.

    No, unfortunately I did not.

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  33. Owais Khan


    1) My overall impression of the Norwalk Science Fair was that it was fine. The judges were kind and tried giving helpful suggestions to projects. There should have been chairs to sit on, however.

    2) The judging process went smoothly, but was a little unorganized. I had to go fetch Amity Students a couple of times because the judges were at their posters when they weren't. The judges didn't ask questions to me, but one was very experienced in biology so they gave very helpful advice to me.

    3) The most helpful comment my judges gave me was how to be more persuasive with my data. Instead of using a for change of 1.5, she said i should state there is a 150% fold change, as it is more convincing.

    4)The pizza and soda were great. There was a surplus of pizza and I was able get my hands on some soda. IT was a sufficient lunch.

    5) The mock science fair did not prepare me much; it was helpful, but was too long ago. Norwalk Science Fair itself was good practice for SCISEF, though.

    6) I learned how to be more persuasive with my data and how to describe the process of determining regulation of specific genes. I will use this information in my next fair.

    I did not have time to view other projects.

    7)I wasn't able to talk to other students from other schools.

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  34. Leah Miller

    1. Overall, the Norwalk Fair went well. I enjoyed the ability to walk around and look at other students' projects. I also enjoyed being able to present to judges as it helped me improve my project. The fair did meet my expectations and was very similar to what I recall from last year. The time made for finals was a lot of down time in which there was nothing planned and we had to entertain ourselves. But this and everything else was fairly similar to last year.

    2. The judging process was helpful. Between the two of them, many questions were asked that were critical and helpful in improving my project. The judges seemed to be fair in that they gave both critical and helpful comments and questions.

    3. The most helpful comment on my project was that there are other possible ways to measure the growth, such as weight, volume, or mass. The least helpful comment was that

    4. The food was good, but the pizza was somewhat cold by the time we got to the room to eat.

    5. The mock science fair helped me in that I was able to see things I could add and techniques I could use to further my presenting skills.

    6. I learned that there are other ways of completing my project besides counting each stem. I also learned that a graph is helpful to easily visualize the results. I can improve by including a graph on my poster. In the little time I spent looking at other projects, the ones that were easy to understand and visually appealing stuck with me as I was able to quickly understand what the project was about and could better understand the entirety of the project.

    7. I did talk to a few students from other schools whose posters were near mine as in a quick introduction, but that was all.

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  35. Katie Meehan

    1. Since Norwalk was my first science fair, it was very exciting and interesting. It was smaller than I expected and there was a lot more waiting around than I thought there would be, but overall it was fun.

    2. The judges were fair but did not ask very many questions or give very many suggestions. They came to my poster, listened to my presentation, and then left. It was a very simple process.

    3. The judges did not comment on my project, they only asked clarifying questions.

    4. The food was very good.

    5. The Mock science fair helped me rehearse what I wanted to say during my presentation. It also helped me feel more comfortable about presenting my project.

    6. I did not learn anything new, but for the next science fair I know to stay calmer. Before presenting, my friends and I were all very nervous and the judges noticed. I did not have time to see any other students projects.

    7. I did not talk to any other students.

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