Statistical analysis on three hands-on science national science fairs in Portugal

Abstract

Three years ago the Science Fair “Hands-on Science” was established with focus on upper basic and high school levels. In April 2013 the third edition of the hands-on science network science fair was organized, in Viana do Castelo, Portugal. For the first time, the science fair was organized within a school, with the participation of students as the staff. The fair took also place in a different city, smaller and with a lesser number of schools in the region. In this communication we intend to show the evolution experienced in organizing this event over the last three years. Replies to questionnaires prepared for both students and teachers allowed us to assess our initiative and draw conclusion that will be presented herein. We will review how the work was carried out in different schools. We show how to organize a large scale science fair within a school environment and suggest methods to include these activities in a school daily context.