Science Fair Help!

[Blackwell4]

Please help me! My Science Fair Project idea was to collect data on how many people who geocache have dogs by using my TB. ( I thought that people who geocache would have more dogs than other animals because they are "outdoor" people.) BUT... My travel bug idea bombed because he's stuck in Kansas and I didn't get much data AND the Science Fair has been moved to the end of January!

I'm just asking for people who geocache to tell me what kind of animals that they have. I'm hoping that my hypothesis is right, but so far, I've been wrong. I will only collect answers until the 20th of January so that I can put my project together. Thanks for your help.

 

This is a copy of my information for my TB:

Owner: Animal Lover 9

Released: Sunday, August 21, 2005

Origin: Colorado, United States

Use TBKWPH to reference this travel bug.

How do Travel Bugs Work?

 

Recently Spotted: In Lake House Cache

 

Current GOAL: I am a 3rd Grader at Powderhorn Elem.School. I am doing a science-fair experiment. I have predicted that people who participate in Geo-Cacheing will have more dogs than cats or other animals. If you can, please take a picture of your pet to go along with your information. Please let me know where you live (State) and what kind of animals you have. I will save all of the information to present at the science fair in late March. Whoever has my Doggy on a Chain by the first day of March, please e-mail my parents at mjbwell@juno.com so that they can talk to you about UPSing my puppy home in time to use at the scince fair.

 

About this item:

Hi! I'm a very friendly dog and I'm house-broken. You can call me "Jeff". Please introduce me to your pets, but don't let them eat me! Thanks! Jeff and Animal Lover 9

 

View the Gallery(2 image(s))

 

Travel Bug History (913mi) View Map

10/9/2005 Herd fan 84 placed it in Lake House Cache Kansas 96.9mi NW [visit log]

 

10/8/2005 Herd fan 84 retrieved it from N. Bville Trail #1 Arkansas [visit log]

I have 2 dogs. I will pst a picture soon. Good luck.

Photos:

Me with Tinkerbell and Mulligan

Tink and Mully are Dachshund/Rat Terrier mix and are brother and sister.

 

10/8/2005 Cardinal placed it in N. Bville Trail #1 Arkansas 1.6mi N [visit log]

 

10/8/2005 Cardinal retrieved it from Park Springs Arkansas [visit log]

I though I would save Doggy on a Chain from being drowned in case the next 1000 Year Flood occurs. To the owner: We presently have no pets. Our last pet was a black cat named Krystal who gave us about seven great years before kidney disease took her away from us earlier this year. My wife, my son John and I all still miss her as she was the perfect cat.

 

9/27/2005 loumil placed it in Park Springs Arkansas 135.6mi SW [visit log]

 

9/24/2005 loumil retrieved it from Laughing Waters Cache Missouri [visit log]

This is our 2nd TB find today (and ever). We've had cats, a dog, gold fish and various other pets; but have none now. We're retired and travel around so we prefer not having a pet to care for. This is a neat idea for TB. We'll make sure that Jeff finds his way to Arkansas and we'll place him in a new home this coming week...LouMil

Photos:

Doggie on Chain visits Arkansas Man

 

9/21/2005 COGeoCachers placed it in Laughing Waters Cache Missouri 672.1mi E [visit log]

 

9/9/2005 COGeoCachers retrieved it from Anja's Detour Colorado 183ft SE [visit log]

Nice idea for a TB. I will get this moving next week when I leave the state. I'm torn on what to post for the pets. I have 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 birds...so I guess you can count them all.

Enjoy!

 

9/2/2005 mrdiamond placed it in Anja's Detour Colorado 6.6mi NE [visit log]

 

8/23/2005 mrdiamond retrieved it from The Ark Colorado [visit log]

Thought I'd get this moving right away. Unfortunatly I have neither dog nor cat. I have a fish

 

8/22/2005 Animal Lover 9 placed it in The Ark Colorado [visit log]

[+Whittling Fisher]

Sounds like a neat science project. I have been geocaching for about 6 months now and my wife and I are the proud owners of a cat. Hope your project goes well.

 

wpwfs2003

[+CamoCacher]

I have 1 dog, 3 cats, 4 fish, and a horse.

[+grueinthedark]

1 dog

[PappaBear & Family]

1 dog, 3 turtles, and my wife has 4 cats.

[+Magoonies]

1 dog and a 5 year old boy (however you score that).

[bogleman]

1 black dog. I leave her at home, she is too much of a sissy to get her paws wet. Good luck with your project. Sorry no pictures. She is a good dog and can play fetch all day long.

Erie Pennsylvania

 

We also have 6 fish and the mouse that lives in the cupboard (don't tell)

[+Team Neos]

Science teacher here....

 

Many times scientists set up experiments that they think will work only to find out that they needed to do something different to learn what they really wanted to know.

 

You might want to discuss this with your teacher before changing the plan.

 

Your "experiment" doesn't have to work out just like you thought it would to be a good project. You just have to do the steps of the scientific method correctly and analyze any results correctly.

 

Your plan didn't work out like you thought it would, but it was still a good plan. It is still interesting (a lot more interesting than just asking people if they have dogs or not).

 

You do not have to change methods in the middle just becaause you didn't get enough responses (or you wouldn't have to if you were MY student, I should say). All you have to do now is figure out why you didn't get the amount of data that you thought you would get...and suggest a revised plan that the next scientist could use to get better amounts of data.

 

Another thing to think about....this idea to poll the foum members has some problems with it too. A poll of the people on the forums who have dogs vs the people who don't is not a poll of ALL geocachers (many people never even read the forums, much less post in them).

 

Edited to try to correct the obvious typos.

Edited December 15, 2005 by Team Neos

[Tahosa and Sons]

2 canines and 1 feline. But I can't take them with me when I hide them in the back courntry. Either the Pumas would have a meal or the ASPCA would fine me for cruelty to animals because I walked the dog for several miles in some real tough country.

[+Ed & Julie]

Answer sent to via a message from your profile

 

Ed & Julie

[+EraSeek]

1 dog, 2 runner ducks, three kids, one wife.

[+SemperFiWags]

I own one male human, one female human and two smaller male human.

[+Jhwk]

One old geocaching pound puppy, two cats, 6 fish, and a partridge in a pear tree

[+Sputnik 57]

I have to agree with Team Neos. Watch out for your scientific method. If you call people on the phone and ask them who they'll vote for, you don't necessarily get a representative sample. About the best you can say is that "people with phones who are will to express a preference will vote" this way.

 

The forum readers constitute far less than 1 percent of all cachers. The typical number of people on the entire forum (not just Getting Started) is about 200, and the maximum ever at one time was 675. (These figure are from the bottom of the main forum page). Nearly 15,000 cachers have posted logs to caches in the last week (from the main CG.com page), and there are over 500,000 cachers registered (newest cache member number as of this post is a member named ScottWT, user number 517,601).

 

Just because the experiment doesn't yield the results you expected, or didn't even get you the data you hoped for, doesn't make it a failure. Sometimes the best science is pointing out what didn't work *and why*, so the next experimenter won't repeat the same error. This too moves science forward.

 

Ask your teacher before you change your method.

Edited December 15, 2005 by Sputnik 57

[+hukilaulau]

One cat (named Jeffrey). One rabbit. Neither goes caching with me.

I think it's a good experiment and you were smart to realize you needed to change it to get enough samples. I worked at a research facility (Brookhaven National Lab) and we often had to change the design of our projects if we weren't getting enough samples.

I don't think you have to worry TOO much about precise scientific method until fourth grade!

I hope you will post your results for us on the fourum.

Edited December 15, 2005 by hukilaulau

[+Sean Connery]

I am amazed that people will take the time to point out the faults of using the forums for garnering the info your project requires, while not pointing out that the same faults are even more inherent in your intitial travel bug method. Not all geocachers pickup and move travel bugs either. I cached for almost a year before I gave in and started grabbing and logging bugs.

 

I daresay there will be more replies to his question here in the forums in the month he has left, then there would be off a single travel bug posts in that same amount of time. Changing your investigative technique when you finally realize your initial method isn't going to work IS what the scientific method is all about. That why we have products like formula 409, etc.

 

By the way, I have a Brittany(a purebred dog, not a pop singer) as my geopet.

[+Airmapper]

Good Luck on your project, my answer is 3 dogs, no cats. The Aussie Shepherd has been on one caching trip, but he doesn't go caching normally. The other two are rabbit hunting beagles.

[+The Leprechauns]

One cat, and a quantity of hamsters that is so staggeringly large that it rightly ought not be considered as a valid response in a thread about pets, as opposed to signature items.

[+the hermit crabs]

No dogs, no pets at all unless you count that stuff that's growing in the back of the fridge.

[+Team Gamps]

4 koi and 1 shubunkin

Edited December 15, 2005 by gamps

[+carleenp]

One dog and two cats. The dog ocassionally caches with me.

["Paws"itraction]

One cat, and a quantity of hamsters that is so staggeringly large that it rightly ought not be considered as a valid response in a thread about pets, as opposed to signature items.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

 

<sniff> <sniff> <snifsnifsnif>

(Kai loves to sniff hamsters...and kittycats...and gerbils...and bunnies...)

 

I am Kai the Paws. As you can see, I'm a dog. My 2 caching pets are a female human and the male Alpha Human. They occasionally go to Caching Events at restaurants without me. Bad pets! BAD!

I wouldn't beg...much...

[+Sputnik 57]

If you decide to use the forum as your sample, I'll add that I have one dog (Commando Cody, the caching Golden Retriever). He caches with me whenever possible.

Edited December 15, 2005 by Sputnik 57

[+BOOKHUNTER]

1 dog, 14 cats

[+jon & miki]

3 cats, can't have dogs where we are now, so 0 dogs

[+AtoZ]

1 dog

1 cat

1 fish

1 frog

1 rat

1 cockroache

 

cheers

[+The Commissar!]

2 dogs and one cat, good luck!

[+CWFI34]

3 Dogs, 1 Fish

[+Team Red Oak]

Hi-

 

We have 4 cats. One who acts llike a dog, he chases balls and brings them back (very odd).

 

We live in Maryland. If you still want pictures of pets let me know and I can send an email to your parents.

 

Good luck with your experiment.

 

Team Red Oak

[snowfoxrox]

Good luck with your project!

I have 2 dogs (who go nuts at the words "Caching" and "4x4"- there are some

nice fields that are open for this type of thing)

2 cats (who get horribly car sick, so opt to stay home)

1 Chinese Water Dragon who is A.) too small right now and B.) It's WAY

too cold for him.

1 Husband who isnt in to this kinda thing

~SFR~

[CacheNCarryMA]

1 dog

1 fish

[+Greymane]

2 dogs (Mac and Molly), 1 cat (Zoto).

[+5winters]

No dogs, no cats, 3 small children (Had a lizard once)

[+lmcgisme]

Two dogs, two cats, and one pot bellied pig. The geopup I use as my avatar is my main geocaching pup, Chubbles. She knows the words caching & camping, and gets really excited about either. If my hubby goes along we'll take our other dog, too.

 

If you click on my name to go to my profile, then to my gallery, you'll see some dog pictures. Good luck with the project.

[+GPSOkie]

I have two Dachshunds that think they are our children. The oldest is a red female named Delia and the youngest is a black and tan male named Winston.

[+bobbarley]

1 dog, 14 cats

Holy cow, thats alot of cats. Arent you supposed to be a recluse with that many!

I have ONE cat, an abyssinian, that I am happy that it still moves much less geocaches.

[+Sugar Glider Sweatshop]

1 sugar glider. He stays home while we geocache.

[+RedhedMary]

Hi - the only pet in our house is one cute guinea pig. He won't use the harness & leash so he can't go caching with me...

[+Wadcutter]

Mrs Wadcutter and Snickers out looking for a cache.

 

[+SgtSue]

1 Cat - but I want to get another dog (mine died in 2001) as soon as I can stop or at slow down on my work travels.

 

edited to add - since I usually cache with 2 buddies when home, who do not read the forums I will answer for them

 

1More - No animals, No plans to get one

 

ScienceNerd - 1 cat, Plans to get a dog in the near future.

Edited December 16, 2005 by SgtSue

[+carolalma]

You certainly have gotten a lot of discussion going. Kudos to you for trying something different, and something you have an interest in. Do a nice job of presenting your project (maybe you can post a picture), and do use the scientific method. (Former third grade science teacher here.) Good luck.

 

Oh! I have no pets. Is it possible that mostly pet owners will respond to your question, so they can brag about their pets?

[+Team Neos]

Young student,

Please talk to your teacher before you change your plan.

Your old plan meets the science standards better than your new idea!

 

I really like all of your ideas. They are creative, and they use something that you have been doing--so we all know that it is something you care about. It's a fun topic, and you a pretty good reason for your prediction (outdoor people have dogs for pets). Using travel bugs was a great idea, because you can print off the maps and the logs to show that you know how to use the computer to track the movement of the bugs (that goes with the using simple instruments part of the standards below).

All in all I say GREAT JOB! I will brag about you to my students to encourage them to be more creative with their projects.

 

I do encourage you to talk to your teacher though, to see if he/she wants you to focus on getting data, or on learning how to do science research. It's always scarey to me when my students try to switch the way they are doing the projects in the middle. They usually end up doing more work and learning less (and having much less fun doing it too!)

 

You aren't a research lab, so you don't have to get a certain number of responses. All you have to do is learn HOW science is done (and by the way, third graders in your state are supposed to know about the scientific method ...Your state science standards are quoted below!)...the whole reason your teacher is having you do the science fair project it to let you enjoy learning about something that interests you while using the scientific method!

 

Your hypothesis doesn't have to be right. Really, trust me on this, it is OK to make a prediction that ends up being proved wrong---that happens all the time in science. My students have a hard time believing this--they think that your experiment is a failure if you made the wrong prediction...that just isn't true. What matters if you do the right steps and analyze the data right.

 

Your method doesn't have to be so perfectly designed that you get the right amount of data. You just have to be ready to explain why it didn't work out like you thought it would. (It is OK to say that the results would have been more accurate if you had been able to do the experiment for a longer amount of time, or if you had used multiple travel bugs, etc).

 

While it might be interesting to include the information from the polls (to show that you made some effort to try to get a lot of data), you will probably want to do some more research if you use that data. You will need to try to figure out if the people who answer forums posts are people who like to be outdoors (remember, that was your reason for thinking that they would have more dogs). That's why I said your first idea was better--Not all geocachers pick up travel bugs, but at least you know that geocachers who pick up travel bugs are geocaching. People who post on forums may have thousands of posts, but hardly ever go geocaching--you will need to investigate that--or at least mention in your report that it is possible that the forum posters aren't very outdoorsy people.

 

Colorado Science standards for K-4:

STANDARD 1:

 

Students understand the processes of scientific investigation and design, conduct, communicate about, and evaluate such investigations.

 

RATIONALE

 

In everyday life, we find ourselves gathering and evaluating information (data), noting and wondering about patterns and regularities, devising and testing possible explanations for how things work, and discussing ideas with others. These characteristically human activities mirror in many ways how scientists think and work. Scientific investigation (inquiry) often begins with a question or problem and usually ends with further questions to investigate. Such investigations may include long-term field studies and are not limited to direct experimentation in a lab setting. They involve the identification and control of variables. Inquiry in the science classroom helps students develop a useful base of scientific knowledge, communicated in increasingly mathematical and conceptual ways as they progress through school. In addition, scientific inquiry stimulates student interest, motivation, and creativity. Designing and conducting investigations encourages students to interpret, analyze, and evaluate what is known, how we know it, and how scientific questions are answered. The knowledge and skills related to scientific inquiry enable students to understand how science works, and are powerful ways for students to build their understanding of the scientific facts, principles, concepts, and applications that are described in the other science content standards, particularly standards two, three, and four. To comprehend the world around them, students need opportunities to pursue questions that are relevant to them and to learn how to conduct scientific investigations. Some scientific inquiries can only be investigated by the use of models since actual events are not repeatable. GRADES K-4

 

In grades K-4, what students know and are able to do includes:

 

asking questions and stating predictions (hypotheses) that can be addressed through scientific investigation;

 

selecting and using simple devices to gather data related to an investigation (for example, length, volume, and mass measuring instruments, thermometers, watches, magnifiers, microscopes, calculators, and computers);

 

using data based on observations to construct a reasonable explanation; and

 

communicating about investigations and explanations.

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

I have to agree with Team Neos. Watch out for your scientific method. If you call people on the phone and ask them who they'll vote for, you don't necessarily get a representative sample. About the best you can say is that "people with phones who are will to express a preference will vote" this way.

 

The forum readers constitute far less than 1 percent of all cachers. The typical number of people on the entire forum (not just Getting Started) is about 200, and the maximum ever at one time was 675. (These figure are from the bottom of the main forum page). Nearly 15,000 cachers have posted logs to caches in the last week (from the main CG.com page), and there are over 500,000 cachers registered (newest cache member number as of this post is a member named ScottWT, user number 517,601).

 

Just because the experiment doesn't yield the results you expected, or didn't even get you the data you hoped for, doesn't make it a failure. Sometimes the best science is pointing out what didn't work *and why*, so the next experimenter won't repeat the same error. This too moves science forward.

 

Ask your teacher before you change your method.

Very well put! I agree much! Thanks!

[+Thot]

I applaud your taking the initiative to change direction when your first one wasn't working out. I assume it wasn't a requirement that you consult with your teacher before changing your approach or you would have done so.

 

I have one dog who rarely goes caching with me because I have to choose between keeping him under control or caching.

[+Thot]

Mrs Wadcutter and Snickers out looking for a cache.

You have a geocaching pig?

 

Just kidding, just kidding.

[+Team Tigger International]

4 cats

a golden lab

and a rotten smelly weinercacher

LOL

 

Wulf

[+Wadcutter]

Mrs Wadcutter and Snickers out looking for a cache.

You have a geocaching pig?

 

Just kidding, just kidding.

She's got a behind on her as wide as a pig. Snickers I mean. I want to make that perfectly clear. Too close to Christmas to get in hot water.

She might as well be a pig. If there is mud or water she's in it. Snickers I mean.

[+Airmapper]

She's got a behind on her as wide as a pig.  Snickers I mean.  I want to make that perfectly clear.  Too close to Christmas to get in hot water.

She might as well be a pig.  If there is mud or water she's in it.  Snickers I mean.

 

On the Right or Left?

 

 

Edit to make sure you know I'm kidding.

Edited December 16, 2005 by Airmapper

[+badlands]

No pets unless you count the occasional tick

[+Harry Dolphin]

I would suspect that a much higher percentage of geocachers with pets (rather than those without) will be answering this question.

I have no pets (unless you count Finley Dolphin, and he is actually a stuffed animal made of fake fur and Fiberfill). Finley bags Stoney Man Mountain.