Or “where do you go from here?”
First, resolve now to enter science fair competition this year. You may
not win, but at least you will have started, and you will gain some of
the experience needed for victory in later years.
Next, choose a science project topic, and discuss your choice with your
science teacher, science club adviser, or hobby counselor. Especially if
this is your first attempt, choose a topic which can be investigated
with materials and equipment available to you at school or at home, and
which can be finished by mid-February. Also, allocate definite
times—particularly on weekends and holidays—when you will work on your
project. (Remember that exams and term papers will probably keep you
very busy in late January and early February.)
Third, execute your project, keeping careful notes and consulting your
project counselor from time to time. Then draft your Project Report,
discuss it with your counselor, revise and edit it as necessary, and get
it typed in final form. Also verify the date your local science fair
opens.
Fourth, plan your exhibit content, design and build your exhibit
structure, select your exhibit components and draft your text, and make
trial layouts until you arrive at the best possible design, including
color. Prepare your color backgrounds, letter your text, and install
text, components, and lighting. Get your handout brochure mimeographed.
Fifth, enter local science fair competition. If you don’t win, find out
why by comparing your project and your exhibit with the winners’, and by
discussing it with your parents, classmates, teachers, judges, and
viewers. If you do win, attempt to understand what made your exhibit
better than the others.
Finally, continue reading and thinking about your basic project topic,
so that next year you will know whether you want to continue to work on
the same topic or to shift your interest to another field.