It’s done! This year’s science fair project is finally done.  I did a test of my experiment design in November, then did the experiment in December.The project included:

• 48 test samples
• 10 days of observations
• 8 data tables with more than 288 individual data points
• 16 charts and graphs generated on the computer, and four hand-drawn graphs
• 50 pages of observations in a lab notebook
• 16 drawings or plans in the lab notebook
• A 5′ tall display that explains my experiment and my results

Of course, a lot of things went wrong during the experiment. (Like always.) For instance, my dog destroyed one of my samples, and some of the others had to be discarded because I didn’t account for a variable that showed up about halfway through the experiment. Then there was an ice storm that threatened to leave us without power — but we were lucky, and we stayed warm. (That was important to my experiment.) I think I spent about 85 hours working on it this year. I love science fairs, and doing experiments, but I am so very, very glad this one is done. I can’t tell you about the project yet, because that would be “giving identifying information” that a judge might see. And I can’t post any photos of my project. But here are some photos of me working on it.It’s due on Tuesday — so tomorrow night, when most people in my class are scrambling to finish their projects, I’m going to be chilling out and watching a movie. (Or at least doing the rest of my homework!) I’m very glad to be done!

They’ll judge the building science fair on Friday, and then we find out if our projects got a ribbon, and who got the “grand prize” in each grade. Only the “grand prize” winners get to go to regionals in my school district. (Some districts let the top three from each school go.)

Wish me luck!