Pre-College Science Fair Projects

1. AIMS of the SCIENCE FAIR

  • Expose pre-college students to the Lilly Research Labs (LRL) Biotechnology business environment
  • Provide an opportunity for African American talent to interact w/ Lilly scientists and engineers to foster career goals and mentor-mentee relationships
  • Provide a platform for students to present Science Fair projects
  • Stimulate student desire to pursue summer scientific careers consistent with LRL future business needs

2. Your Science Project Research Focus should be related to the Biotech/Pharmaceutical Companies Focus Research Areas such as:

  • Cancer
  • Diabetes Care
  • Growth Disorders
  • Osteoporosis
  • Sepsis
  • Neuroscience
  • Erectile Dysfunction
  • Animal Health

3. First things First, you MUST do the RESEARCH!!!!!!

  • Commit yourself to spend time, several hours or days searching the subject you enjoy
  • Commit yourself to find out what’s interesting to you, maybe to your immediate environment, or to the world. Think about how you can contribute to society in this field of study
  • Commit to share your search with your science teachers or classmates and bounce ideas off them
  • Simple topics can actually turn into great projects. At most science fairs, a student with a simple project who "knows their stuff" will win over a student with a complicated project who is not as great a presenter (this is especially true at higher level fairs).
  • Do not choose a topic that is so open-ended that you will not make much progress. Focus on one aspect of a topic to narrow down what you will work on.
  • Do not pick a broad topic unless you are an expert in that field or plan on learning a ton of information. Judges could pummel you with questions about aspects of the subject you are unfamiliar with.
  • Don’t forget to use resources (science books, journal articles, internet) to help you understand your topic as well as figure out experiments that relate to your topic.

4. Now you are ready to get started with your Science Fair project, create your ROADMAP!

5. Example Science Fair Topics

  • Characterization of sugar(s) profile in a Fruit Diet
  • Novel improvements in Chloric content in Diabetics
  • Comparison of Bio-Process operations for purification of proteins and antibodies in the Pharmaceutical Industry
  • Digestion of Proteins in acid or alkaline solutions and measuring amino acid concentrations

6. What should be included on your poster for the Science Fair:

  • All posters should feature a title, your name, school, research focus area and should credit those who helped you with your research.
  • Introduction (One paragraph describing what your project topic is and why you picked it)
  • Problem statement (what did you hope to accomplish; what was your hypothesis). It's okay if your hypothesis is proved incorrect.
  • Methodology (what procedure did you take to do your research)
  • Results (what data did you collect from your methodology; what do your results tell you about your hypothesis). Do not tell the entire research history. Present only enough data to support your conclusions and show the originality of the work.
  • Conclusions (what should one walk away from your poster knowing about your research)
  • Each poster should not be bigger than 4 feet high x 6 feet wide (including frame). Computer display equipment, sound or projection equipment, freestanding or three-dimensional displays, demonstrations/experiments, or handout materials are permitted but it is the sole responsibility of the presenter to provide for the materials.
  • Use a crisp, clean design. All lettering should be legible from about 5 feet (1.5 m) away. Title lettering should be about 2" to 3" (5 to 7.5 cm). Subheading lettering should be 1/2" to 1" high (1.25 to 2.5 cm). Text lettering should be approximately 24 points (1/4" or .625 cm).
  • Displayed materials should be self-explanatory, freeing you for discussion.
  • Make illustrations simple and bold, with captions at least 3/8" (.939 cm) high. Enlarge photos, tables, and charts to show pertinent details clearly.

7. On the day of the Science Fair:

  • Come to the registration booth to pick up your conference materials and to find out your poster board number. You must pre-register by September 30, 2009, as well as pick up your conference materials the day of in order to participate in the science fair.
  • Each participant is responsible for mounting his/her material prior to the opening of the poster session and for removing it IMMEDIATELY after the close of the session. You must mount your poster 30 minutes prior to the start time of the session.
  • Pack a sketch of your poster layout, measuring tape, push pins (NOBCChE Indianapolis will provide a reasonable supply of push-pins, although it is wise to bring your own), or Velcro, so you can set up your poster quickly. All material must be removable.
  • Participants must remain with their posters for the duration of the session and they are expected to display and discuss their results and answer question from other attendees.

8. Science Fair Awards

  • Educational scholarship awards will be given to the top 5 students: 1st prize $1000, 2nd prize $500, 3rd prize $250, 4th prize $125, 5th prize $125.
  • Note: Educational scholarships are to be used for attendance to a 4-year college or university of the students choice. For more detail, contact NOBCChE Indianapolis Biotech Conference Chair.