THe Future belongs to the curious
Start a ProjectThis is your opportunity to think big, ask questions, and follow your passion! Follow these steps to turn your idea into a project that could change the world.
1
Start with what you are passionate about and what you’re good at
This is the step where anything is possible. Dream big. Follow your passions. Ask questions. What do you want to explore?
Think about:
- What are you passionate about?
- What are you good at?
- What question are you trying to answer, or what problem are you trying to solve?
- Who could benefit from your idea?
- How can it make the world a better place?
- What kinds of research do you need to do to answer some of your questions?
- How will you identify relevant and trustworthy sources of information?
- Who could support me in this project as a mentor?
- Check out the Challenge topics for inspiration
Try out your idea and see what happens
Get messy and dive into your project! This is where you test your discovery or innovation plans.
Does your idea require Ethical Approval? If required, get the approval before starting the project.
Think about:
- Is your idea safe?
- Are you planning to record information in a digital or hand-written logbookClick to learn about logbook?
- How will you control the variables?
- What materials will you use?
- Is your testing plan supported by your background research?
- What is your experiment or design process?
- How will you design and test your solution or prototype?
- How will you collect your data?
- How many samples will you need to test?
2
Perform & Record
3
Analyse & Interpret
Think about what happened, and why
Now it’s time to look at your results. What happened and why?
Think about:
- What are the most important results or findings of your project?
- How does your prototype work?
- What is the best way for you to display your results? Graphs? Charts? Diagrams?
- How will you use your results to support your conclusion – what happened and why?
- How would you explain your results to someone without a STEM background?
- If you got results that were different than what you expected, that’s okay! Explain why.
- Do you have enough data? Should you repeat your testing to get more?
Share your STEM project story
This is when you tell your story, sharing what you learned and where you’ll go next!
Learn how to start with a Single Slide digital presentation board, which is then printed to prepare a physical board for the fair. Digital board will be used by the judges in the absence of a physical fair.
Think about:
- How can get people’s attention with your story? How will you draw people in?
- What inspired you to do this project?
- What were your key findings?
- What did you learn from your experience?
- Did you experience any issues? How did you overcome them?
- How could you improve your project?
- What are your next steps? Dream big!
4
Exhibit & Experience
Safety & Ethics
A good STEAM project is safe and ethical. Before starting your project, check out these important tips.