A science poster is a communication tool, which helps to make a verbal presentation more interactive, memorable and interesting. Moreover, visual information is perceived easier and is kept in mind for a long period of time as the majority of people perceive the information they see better than the one they hear, for instance.
The first scientific posters were used in 1969 and were considered by many scientists as an opportunity to share the results of their work with peers. As the years pass, the functions of such prints broaden though the main idea remains the same. Moreover, science posters still remain one of the most efficient ways of delivering scientific information.
Science posters can be used for a great number of goals, but among the most important are informational, educational and persuasive ones.
First of all, a scientific poster can be used for information dissemination and presentation of research results, especially at various science fairs and conferences. The scientists often create dozens of prints regarding their research for a science fair poster board in order to share information with their colleagues. The use of a science fair poster is more widespread than any other type of scientific printed material. And they remain popular even in the epoch of high technologies, when many people prefer to make presentations with the help of modern software.
Secondly, a science poster board is an efficient educational tool. It can be placed at schools, colleges, universities and any other educational establishment. Such boards are usually dedicated to a certain subject. But placing a science poster at a certain class isn’t the only way of its use in education. Some teachers ask their students to create posters on a specific theme themselves. The thing is that while creating a poster and preparing for its presentation, a student gets much knowledge and can share it with the fellow students.
Thirdly, a scientific poster may aim at persuading a certain group of people or humanity as a whole in some things. For example, it can be a poster, dedicated to ecological problems and the people’s impact on nature. The difference of scientific ecological posters from more emotional ones is that they don’t contain the general phrases like “Save the Earth” but feature real and proven facts to make people aware of what they do. The use of such posters isn’t restricted by the conferences and educational establishments. They may be located everywhere from business centers to beaches.
Scientific Poster Examples
The design of a science poster can be different. They may contain much information or only some key points, they can be dedicated to a great number of themes and feature various kinds of images and graphic materials. Here are some examples of scientific posters.
Science Fair Posters
A Pyramid Of Needs Poster
When creating posters for science fairs, the aim isn’t only to present your work but also to attract attention. Various images, graphs and tables are almost obligatory for such kind of posters. If you don’t have enough materials, you can provide visuals with some background and additional information. The Pyramid of Needs, for example, can be applied for a number of sociological researches.
Computer Science Posters
A Web Design Poster
The web design poster above is a brilliant example of computer science prints, which have almost no text but are very informative. It’s the proof that a poster can be efficient without tons of information, which is frequently unnecessary.
Natural Science Posters
A Biology Science Poster
This biology poster featuring the images of the most important human organs doesn’t present a research and isn’t innovative. However, it’s useful for the science as it’s impossible to proceed in it without knowing the basics.
Chemistry Scientific Posters
A Chemistry Scientific Poster
Prints for chemistry lessons are ones of the most popular educational posters. They may feature the periodic table of elements, objects structure or, like the poster above, can contain the basic information about a certain element.
Social Science Posters
A Psychology Scientific Poster Template
Social sciences have a number of abstract notions and sometimes, it’s really hard to find a way to demonstrate them. That’s why, sociologists and psychologists spend much time to find the images, which can help to represent their research in the best way. Frequently, rather original and eccentric pictures are applied.
Scientific Linguistics Posters
A Grammar Mind Map Science Poster
A mind map is a great way to represent several ideas in one print and organize the information. It’s created around a single concept, to which associated images, words and phrases are added. It’s especially often used in linguistics. This grammar poster is one of the examples of how a mind map is built.
Cool Science Posters Ideas
Besides the traditional designs, science posters can be more creative and interesting. Of course, such posters aren’t always suitable for serious conferences and meetings, but if used for educational establishments and classrooms, they look really cool.
Vintage Science Posters
A Vintage Science Poster of Butterflies Species
Vintage posters are very popular now and it’s not strange that they can be also used in such a sphere as science. A vintage science poster isn’t only a decorative piece and can be dedicated to serious themes. A poster to any theme may be done in a vintage technique. For example, butterflies species for biology lessons can be presented in a retro style. It is creative and will look extremely nice if placed in a wooden frame.
Science Safety Posters
A Science Safety Poster
It’s not a secret that the classrooms for some disciplines need to be decorated not only with prints dedicated to certain themes, but also the ones with safety tips. For example, as many experiments may take place in a chemistry class, a science safety poster is a must have there. The students must be aware of the safety precautions and have constant access to this information. You may hang a simple set of rules, but it’s better to use images for better perception.
Creative Scientific Poster Design
A Creative Scientific Poster
There are dozens of ways how to turn a science poster, dedicated even to the most boring theme, into a creative one. It’s a brilliant idea to combine science and art in a single print. Though such prints are more frequently used for decorative purposes, they can be also employed for science directly.
If the format of the conference allows and there are no strict rules for poster presentation at a certain science fair, you have an opportunity to forget about a scientific poster template. Turn on your imagination to create an absolutely original and creative poster, which will certainly attract much attention.
Funny Science Posters
A Funny Scientific Poster
Who said that humor can’t be used for science posters? If you aren’t afraid of experiments, you may use some funny images in science posters if they illustrate the ideas, you want to deliver with the help of your poster.
However, don’t overuse humor and don’t turn your poster into a set of jokes. Everything is good in measure. For example, a funny image of Archimedes in a bathtub is a good way to present the famous law of physics in a creative way. It’s especially good for schoolchildren as they will easily remember the Archimedes principle after having a look at such a picture.
Motivational Science Classroom Posters
Keep Calm and Learn Science poster
Sometimes, it may be rather hard to motivate pupils and students to study and it can be a real challenge to awaken their interest in science. The easiest way of motivation is to say that directly with such inscriptions as “Love Science”, “Study Hard” or more trendy one “Keep Calm and Learn Science”.
A good idea is to use quotes of famous scientists. Our personal opinion is that the citations of successful people inspire more than abstract words. In addition, motivational posters can feature only inspirational images and have no text at all.
How to Make a Scientific Poster
If you need to make a poster for a science project poster board, you need to keep in mind some simple but important rules. The following tips will help you to succeed in creating a professional scientific poster.
Scientific posters are rather large in size as they contain much information, which needs to be efficiently presented. The standard scientific poster size is 36”x48”, but, actually, a number of options are available and if you think that you need less or more space to represent the results of your research, you are free to use any other scientific poster size. However, take into account that many professionals consider that a poster should be readable from six feet away.
As a rule, all the information in a poster is divided into several parts. They are: title, introduction, materials and methods, results, conclusions, references, acknowledgments and contact information. The title should be brief and no longer than 2 lines, but, at the same time, it needs to attract attention to the poster and explain what it is about. The introduction must awaken interest to your research, but don’t add too much information to it not to get people bored. There are separate scientific method posters, which are created in order to show exactly this part of the work. However, each poster needs to contain a methods section as well in order to help the viewers understand the process of getting such results. In addition, it’s also better to explain why you used exactly these methods. It’s good if your results section contains charts and graphs as they make the information more visual. As to the conclusion, it needs to be a brief review of all the data provided in the poster, which also shows why your research is so important. The references and acknowledgments are also a very important part, which needs to be organically added to the science fair poster board layout. The use of contact information is optional. So, if you want people to contact you to discover more about your investigation, you can place your email, site and phone number somewhere in the bottom of the poster.
Don’t overload a poster with text. Make a poster informational but simple. Use only the key information, which is really important. The results of your research must be easy readable so that every spectator has an ability to scan it quickly. Various tables, graphs, charts and infographics may help you to deliver the information more efficiently and attractively. Moreover, you should use small paragraphs so that the information is perceived better.
Pay attention to the color. It doesn’t matter if it’s a precise scientific method poster or the one, dedicated to a global warming theme, the colors you use are very important. First of all, make sure that the contrast between the text color and the background is sufficient and everything is clearly seen. Secondly, you may use several colors for the text, but don’t overuse them. The use of a different color is suitable only if you want to emphasize something and turn the viewers’ attention to the key elements.
Think about the audience. If you make a poster for science fair poster boards, it’s more likely that the major part of the audience is presented by experts in your field of study, which are interested in the subject and have some knowledge in this theme. Such prints may contain specific technical terms and there is no need in adding too much background information to them. While creating science posters for classrooms, where your audience consists of students, who aren’t experts, it’s necessary to take into account that such audience needs much background and contextual information about the subject. Moreover, the language of the poster for non-experts needs to be rather simple and if technical terms are used, they need to be explained.
Font selection. The most appropriate typefaces for science prints are Times New Roman, Cambria, Georgia, Arial and Calibri. They are frequently used as examples in scientific poster templates. These fonts look professionally and are easy readable. It’s better to avoid using too decorative fonts as they are more suitable for creative and artistic works. As to the size of fonts, it’s usually minimum 85pts for title, 50-60 pts for author name and affiliations, 40-55pt for introduction, materials and methods, results, 30-45pt for body copy and 30-40 pt for captions.
Image selection. While creating a poster, you may find a science poster template with some interesting background, which will make your poster stand out from the rest. However, it’s hardly possible that a science fair poster template contains the images you need for presenting the results of your investigation. While selecting an image for your poster, pay attention to its resolution as the images of bad quality will blur if enlarged. Moreover, some images are protected by copyright and that’s why if the image isn’t created by you, you need to get permission for its use.
5 Secrets of a Perfect Scientific Poster Presentation
Besides the general rules, there are also some secrets, which we would like to share with you. These aren’t rules or requirements, but it’s better that you know them as they will help you to make a more successful poster presentation.
Secret 1. If you take part in a conference or science fair, you need to attract attention to your poster. As there will be many presenters and many posters, you have a chance to remain unnoticed. The first impression is extremely important. Thus, not only the poster matters but also the way you present it and talk about it. So, it’s better to prepare your speech beforehand in order not to forget the key issues.
Secret 2. The impact of the poster takes place not only during the presentation but also after it. In order to make people remember about your research, make them engaged. Don’t simply talk about your work but interact with people. Answer all the questions the viewers ask you and try to communicate with everyone, who wants to talk to you.
Secret 3. Though scientific posters contain serious information, don’t make them impersonal, dry and boring. They need to contain a part of you and then, people will definitely enjoy it.
Secret 4. Pay attention to the way you speak. In order to be heard, you need to speak loudly, slowly and well enunciated. Don’t use too many abbreviations and technical terms if you aren’t sure that everyone understands them. Remember that the main aim of your presentation is to make the message clear to everyone.
Secret 5. While presenting a poster, use the elevator pitch method, a presentation which lasts 1-2 minutes. The main task of the elevator pitch is to present your research as if you meet someone in the elevator and need to tell him or her about your work while a person is still in the elevator.
Where It’s Better to Order Scientific Poster Printing
Nowadays, there are two basic ways of how to get a high-quality scientific print. You can either do that at brick-and-mortar shops or using online poster printing services. The both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Thus, the main pluses of brick-and-mortar shops are that you can control the printing process and make all your remarks immediately. However, the prices at such shops are usually higher than at online stores. In addition, it may happen that the nearest shop is located far away from your home or work, and you will have to spend time to get there as well as wait till the print is ready. Print posters online is surely easier than at live shops. First of all, you don’t have to wait or spend time on getting there. You can make an order without leaving your home and have it delivered right there. Secondly, as a rule, the prices at online stores are cheaper, even if you have to pay the shipping costs. The main minus of making an order for print online is that you pay for the poster before you see it. Of course, some cases of frauds happen but in order to avoid such situations, choose the sites with good reputation.
Despite the fact that new ways of information presentation appear and develop, posters remain one of the basic ways to make the presentation memorable, clear and efficient. We think that their importance won’t change in the nearest time. That’s why, if you have to do with them, it’s better to learn how to make and present them properly. We hope that our tips will help you to succeed in that.
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