Science fair project boards are large sheets of poster paper or foam core used to display experiments for school or community science fairs. Most displays use the standard layout that features sections from left to right and top to bottom, with the title written out large letters in the center of the board.
Organize Your Information
Science fair project boards (also called display boards) provide you with an effective means of conveying your experiment and results to judges at science fairs. A good display board should consist of an appropriate background board–often sold as such–large enough for easy reading from three feet away–a project report, graphs and charts, photos or models to represent the experiment, etc.
Information presented on your project board should be organized logically and presented with its title prominently displayed at the top. Different competitions or teachers may require certain components be included; overall though, your goal should be making your work easily understandable to readers.
Visual items, like charts and graphs, can help illustrate your findings more interestingly and give the judges an indication of your ability to interpret and present data – an advantage which could earn points.
Make It Easy to Read
Your text on your science fair project board should be clear and easy to read, using an attractive combination of fonts and sizes. Bold or italicized fonts may be hard for readers to distinguish; to enhance readability further use white background paper or construction paper to emphasize text more.
Photos, figures or drawings that relate to your experiment can make the board more visually appealing and easy for people to comprehend. Graphs, charts and tables may also help illustrate your data and results more clearly.
Keep in mind that judges value quality over quantity in your project submission. Too many decorations or details may distract from its content, so only include essential information necessary for your experiment – such as your introductory section (abstract or hypothesis), literature reviews, experimental procedures and materials sections.
Make It Appealing
Science fairs rely heavily on presentation boards as an integral element. Even if a student conducted a fascinating experiment and achieved remarkable results, without engaging and visually attractive board they will not receive full marks for their project.
An effective science fair project board involves crafting an engaging layout without being overcrowded with decorative items; rather, its main goal should be to showcase all essential information efficiently.
Charts and graphs can also help judges understand your data more quickly while adding visual appeal to the presentation board. They shouldn’t become an unnecessary distraction and should only be included if appropriate images accompany them; if students need assistance in selecting an image that would best represent their experiment they should consult their teacher for advice.
Make It Concise
When it comes to science fair project boards, less is often more. Too much information may overload judges and be difficult for them to read.
As part of a science fair board presentation, it’s crucial that you clearly and concisely demonstrate how your experiment was carried out. One effective way of doing this is using the literature section as a repository of scientific material supporting your study; then proceeding to the procedure section and detailing your experiment and materials used; lastly the results and conclusions section should present your scholarly findings.
Visual components, like photographs and diagrams, may not be essential to every science fair project, but they can make your board more appealing for your audience to view your data. Also beneficial are charts and graphs as this provides them with a better way to interpret your findings.