Science fairs have the potential to be a rich learning experience, bringing out the very best of student creativity and curiosity. Often they are fraught with sighs, nervousness and unsupportive comments from home.

Join the Science Learning Hub team in a session which will help flip the science fair flunk into what could be your schools best science fair year yet! We will highlight the important components for ensuring quality learning, explore the links to the science capabilities and nature of science and share inspiring outcomes.

This session will be valuable for both primary and secondary school teachers.

Register here.

Joining the webinar

Follow these simple steps to join our webinar:

  1. Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android by clicking on the link https://waikato.zoom.us/j/359736528 and following the instructions. You can also access Zoom on your phone, just follow the prompts.
  2. Find the chat box located in the toolbar at the bottom of your screen. You may need to access this by clicking on ‘More’.
  3. Using the chat box, introduce yourself, where you teach and, if you are in a group, how many people are there.
  4. Set up your screen for optimal viewing. If you’re using a mobile device, you may wish to view in landscape. We recommend selecting a thumbnail view of the presenters – this way, you can easily see what is being shared on the screen.

Then you can:

  • watch, listen and respond via chat to the presentation and discussion
  • ask questions using the chat box at any time
  • continue your learning on Slack – our online discussion forum.

The Science Learning Hub team will be there to support you and answer questions.

PLD certification

We currently offer recognition of teachers’ involvement in our online PLD.

To qualify for a professional learning and development certificate, teachers must:

  • register for and watch the live webinar or let us know they have viewed the recorded version once it is published on the website
  • register in Slack and participate in our discussions about about science fairs or in the Slack learning reflections channel.

Nature of science

Science fairs are a great way to get students exploring the nature of science and experiencing the science capabilities.

Related content

Read these stories of some previous New Zealand science fair winners.

Use this Connected article Winning ways: presenting scientific data to learn how one student presented her scientific data

– this will hopefully help give you a head start on winning at the science fair!

See our Science fair investigations Pinterest board for more ideas.

Useful link

NIWA supports many New Zealand science fairs. Check out this link to find a science fair near you.

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