Traditional Science Fair Projects: What's the Difference Between an Experiment and an Exhibit? Many students have difficulty discerning the difference between Exhibit and Experiment projects.
Exhibit: Demonstration, Model, or Display – shows how or why something works the way it does. This information can be found in a book; the facts are known. So, an Exhibit is an explanation of how or why something works. It reveals details about the topic. An Exhibit is an explanation, not a question.
Experiment – uses the steps of the scientific method to answer a question to which you do not know the answer without testing. So, an Experiment follows the steps of the scientific method. It clearly asks a question to which you do not already know the answer without testing.