Science Fair!

Science Fair is always a busy time of the year but it is so rewarding to see the children learn while being able to participate in a hands on project. This year I used the same idea that I used last year, just with a few changes. I split my class into three groups so that way there would be variety among the projects and so the students could all learn about different types of habitats. This year my three habitat groups were: Ocean, Safari, and Rainforest. Every student was responsible for creating their own animal habitat out of a shoebox. We also learned about the habitats in our science curriculum. The cut outs and idea came from http://www.firstpalette.com/ .

The first step in the process of making the habitat shoe box diorama is painting:
The Ocean painted in blue, the Safari painted in yellow, and the Rainforest painted in green.

The Safari group painting at once. Yes it was organized chaos!

A student painting her box.

A student painting her box.


The next step is to wait until the paint dries before starting the next part. From there you color and cut out the animals and surroundings. Then you cut out stands(I used cardstock and note cards for this part) and then glue the animal/surroundings to the stand and then glue it inside the box. 

The rainforest group working!

A student placing her animals.

A student cutting and gluing the pieces together,

The next step was the crowd's favorite part of the process. With the help of our teacher aide, I took our class to the beach (which is right next to the school) and they were able to grab materials to add to their habitats. If they were in the Safari group they could grab sand and rocks, the Rainforest group- leaves, twigs, and anything green or brown, and the Ocean group could grab seashells and lots of sand.
It was so fun to see them get into their project and nobody ended up in the water!

Students walking along the beach looking for materials.

Students gathering materials.

A beautiful morning!






Then the last few steps are to have the students add their materials to their habitats, double check their work and then they are finished.
Here are pics of the final products:

A student with his Ocean habitat.

The Ocean Group.

The Rain Forest Group.

The Safari Group.

Here are pics from the night of the Science Fair:

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! The kids worked hard on their projects and had a lot of fun in the process. I am glad they learned a lot through this experience. Now I am getting them ready for the Young Writers Showcase next month! I just can't believe it is already the 4th quarter!
-Kara-