A number of exhibits are either entered in the wrong section or do not really have the necessary attributes for either section of the Fair.

 Please use the information below, as well as the tick-box table to ensure that students are not disappointed by finding their entry has been incorrectly classified or is ineligible for judging.

	Technology		Science
Approach	Synthesis ‘Connects the findings’	The boundary is neither definite nor fixed	Analysis ‘Finds the Connections’
Process	Design		Scientific method
Typical Steps	Recognise a need/opportunity Define the problem Gather information Analyse information Develop a plan Design alternative prototypes Evaluate prototypes Produce a solution Evaluate responses		Observations Hypothesis Prediction Controlled experiments/observations Or Attempts to disprove hypothesis Valid data Theory
Main Purpose	Develop a ‘solution’		Explain phenomena
Practise Yields	Products, processes, environments		Ideas & understanding
Serves	Human needs and opportunities		Truth & knowledge

A ‘project’ that simply summarises ideas of others or collates scientific knowledge or is a model of existing technology or natural phenomena does not fall into either of the required categories and should not be entered into the Fair.

 A scientific investigation for school students usually follows some version of the "scientific method" (though not all scientific investigations do!). CLICK HERE for some guidelines...

Fair test / Scientific investigation example

Technological development example...what the judges look for...

Identifying exhibits as science or technology...

	Science	Technology
Rather than meeting a human need or opportunity, is the exhibit mainly driven by curiosity about something?	Yes¨
Was most of the research aimed at gathering new data in response to an observation and/or hypothesis?	Yes¨
Did the gathering and processing of data ensure its validity and aim to determine its significance to causes of an effect?	Yes¨
Is the "scientific method" the core process?	Yes¨
Has an attempt been made to prove an hypothesis wrong?	Yes¨
Has a theory been formulated to explain the observations?	Yes¨
Is the exhibit a response to an identified human need or opportunity for a product, process or environment?		Yes¨
Was some of the research aimed at confirming the validity of the original need or opportunity, and/or finding out the precise nature of the problem to which they are developing a solution?		Yes¨
Was much of the research aimed at guiding the development and/or improving the performance of the product, process or environment?		Yes¨
Is a design process the core process?		Yes¨
Does the exhibit identify as important such attributes as: efficiency, optimisation, reliability, cost-effectiveness, appropriateness of materials, ergonomics, aesthetics, etc?		Yes¨
Does the exhibit show that the satisfaction of the end-users of a product, process or environment was a key factor in guiding the development?		Yes¨
Is it concerned with something which could be mass-produced?		Yes¨
Is the development of the identified product, process or environment the key element of the exhibit, including documentation with sufficient plans, models, etc., to verify the development process?		Yes¨
TOTALS

 

You should have as many ticks as possible (within reason and as appropriate to your particular project) to ensure your project is up to a reasonable standard