Announcing the

2007 Math, Science & Technology Expo
Sponsored by the Arlington Council PTSA

Date: Saturday, March 24, 2007
(snow date Sunday, March 25, 2007)

Place: Arlington High School, Cafeterias C & D
Time: 8:00AM to 10:00AM for Participants & Their Families
Time: 10:00AM to 12:15PM Open to the Public

MST Expo Brochure and Registration Form

The Arlington PTA Council invites students of all grade levels to participate in the Math, Science & Technology Expo, on a voluntary basis, with an individual project, class project, or a team project.

For elementary students, projects may be as simple as a collection, a display board project, a simple experiment, exploration of a math topic, or an invention.

For secondary students entries could include an investigation of a topic, a research presentation, an experiment following the scientific method, or an engineering/technology construction.

This is an EXPOSITION, it is not a competitive Science Fair. Students will have the opportunity to share with others what they enjoy in the areas of math, science, and/or technology.

Registration details and forms will be distributed to all students in January 2006.

Basic Ingredients for the Math, Science & Technology Expo

Ideas for your project can come from many places. Think about problems you want solved or items you would like explained. Read newspapers and magazines for current topics of interest. Check out math, science, and technology sites on the Internet. Your project can be an investigation, a collection, a demonstration/invention of a scientific or mathematical principle, a research report, an experiment, or an engineering/technology construction. The most important thing is for you to do something that you are interested in! Have a good time doing the project and learning from it.

Looking for Ideas to Get Started?

Visit your school library, community library, or the Internet. Here are some starting resources to get you thinking about math, science and technology.

Books:
How Things Work by David McCauley
Barrons’s ScienceWizardry for Kids
The Kingfisher Young Discoverers Encyclopedia of Facts and Experiments
Science Experiments You Can Eat by Vicki Cobb
How to Really Fool Yourself, Illusions for all your Senses by Vicki Cobb
The Mathematical Tourist, Snapshots of Modern Mathematics by Ivars Peterson

Current Internet Resources:

Sites with many topics and links
www.enchantedlearning.com
www.exploratorium.edu
http://www.tc.cornell.edu/CTC-Main/Services/Education/Gateways/Math_and_Science/
  Cornell Theory Center Math and Science
http://highschoolhub.org/hub/hub.cfm
www.tryscience.com
http://lifelines.midhudson.org/   Mid-hudson Library System

Computers and Technology
http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/science.html#e

Robotics
http://www.thetech.org/robotics/

NASA for kids
http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/

Engineer Girl (not just for girls)
http://www.engineergirl.org/nae/cwe/egmain.nsf/?Opendatabase

Aeronautics Learning Laboratory for Science Technology and Research (ALLSTAR)
http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/

Bridge building contest
http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/

Dinosaurs
www.jpinstitute.com/index.jsp

Electric Heart from NOVA Online
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/eheart/

Science of Cooking
www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/

Math
www.aaamath.com
www.coolmath4kids.com
http://www.allmath.com/
http://www.yahooligans.com/School_Bell/Math/

Suggestions for Displaying and Presenting Your Expo Project

The following information should be included in your display so that others may read about your project. You may think of additional information to include. Be prepared to discuss what you have learned with others.

*** Note that these are not requirements but recommendations for a successful project ***

TITLE: Choose a catchy title. Make it specific.

A Display Board/Research Project

1. Title of project.
2. What is the purpose of your project?
3. Why did you choose this topic to investigate/research?
4. Where did you find information about your topic (i.e. books, people, Internet, etc.)?
5. What did you learn about your topic (important facts about your topic)?
6. How can people use the information you learned?
7. What further questions do you still have about this project?
8. Bibliography (an alphabetical listing by author of all books, magazines, web-sites, etc. that you have used for this research).

A Demonstration/Invention or Engineering/Technology construction

1. Title of project.
2. What is the purpose of your project/construction?
3. Materials (what you used).
4. Log (what did you do to get ready for the demonstration and exactly what did you do as you were demonstrating).
5. Research (summary)
6. Application (after learning from this demonstration, how can you use this information in everyday life?)
7. Bibliography (an alphabetical listing by author of all books, magazines, web-site, etc. that you have used for this demonstration).
8. Why did you choose this topic/principle?
9. Where did you get the ideas you used in your demonstration?
10. Did you learn something new about this topic? What was the best thing (i.e., new learning, activity, etc.) that happened during the preparation of your project?

An Experiment

1. Ask a question. What do you want to find out?
2. Decide what you think will happen (your hypothesis).
3. Test to see what would actually happen (the procedure).
4. Observe what happened (record and analyze the data).
5. Answer your question. What did you find out?
6. How did it compare with your hypothesis (draw conclusions)?
7. Research (summary)
8. Bibliography (an alphabetical listing by author of all books, magazines, web-site, etc. that you have used for this experiment).

A Collection

1. What is your collection (title of the display)?
2. How are items in your collection alike?
3. How are items in your collection different?
4. When did you begin this collection?
5. How have you been collecting them (such as finding them in nature or purchasing them or receiving them as gifts)?
6. What have you learned about the items in your collection?
7. Where did you learn it?
8. Do you have favorite items? Why are they your favorites?
9. Bibliography (an alphabetical listing by author of all books, magazines, web-site, etc. that you have used for this collection).

Project Safety Rules:

1. Live Animals are not permitted.
2. Use of high voltage, chemicals, molds, or other substances which could be considered dangerous materials, toxins, or allergens are not allowed.
3. Plan to keep your exhibit in working order during the Expo. Exhibits with working parts should be checked often so that minor repairs may be made. Projects requiring an AC outlet should adhere to the following rules:
   1. All electrical circuits should be properly fused at the exhibit.
   2. You may use a transformer if it is connected such that it works only when the switch is held down.
   3. No exposed terminals - standard electrical tape can cover necessary terminal connections.
4. Metal chassis, motors, transformers, etc. must be grounded. This can be accomplished through a three-prong attachment plug.
5. Moving parts such as gears, levers, and belts that could be a hazard should be shielded or made inaccessible.
6. Reasonable precaution will be taken to protect your exhibits. NO GUARANTEE AGAINST DAMAGE OR LOSS CAN BE GIVEN. Make your exhibit strong and durable. Avoid loose, unattached parts: build them into your exhibit. Protect valuable or fragile parts with plexi glass, clear vinyl, clear plastic, or screen.

Questions? E-mail mstexpo@frontiernet.net

The 2007 MST EXPO Committee
Alice Kuch
Irene Keyes
Rich Keyes
Melissa Erlebacher
Pam Freeman
Joe Salfelder