Parents Corner
Congratulations on having a student who is interested in the Intel-Affiliated Contra Costa County Science and Engineering Fair (CCCSEF). As your child works on this exciting project, he or she will apply knowledge learned across many disciplines, including the sciences, language arts, computer science, history and everyday life. Completing an CCCSEF project can be a just as time-consuming as it is rewarding. Students need their parents' support while they are working on their projects. Please read through the application process on the website and in the ISEF Student Handbook so you can understand how the competition works. Naturally, the degree of parental involvement will vary with a child's age, but there are some basic ways in which all parents can help.
Provide Guidance
You are an invaluable resource for your child as he or she goes through the process of putting this rewarding project together. It's important to talk about the project and make sure your child understands what is expected of him or her. By asking questions, you can help your child think through the process and break it down into manageable assignments. When responding to a question, you might ask what they think, how their teacher explained it or where they think you should look together to find the answer. Encourage your child to research for answers. It helps the child develop a better understanding of what they are doing and why which is invaluable when they compete in the Interview Process of the fair and asked probing questions by the Fair's judges.
Useful Tools
The links provided below are resources helpful in putting together an innovative and competitive science fair project.
Science Buddies (Ideas, Answers, Tools)