science fair projects Kids think it should be fun. Teachers believe they should be pedagogical. Parents just want it to be quick and easy. Since students, teachers, and parents are all involved in the process of getting ready for a science fair, for the most part, science projects should be all of the above!
As a result, finding the perfect science fair project can be challenging. Here are five steps to finding a project that will make everyone happy.
1. Know the type of science project required. There are five types of projects, and many students’ project ideas have been rejected because of scientific technology. Be sure to find out if your science teacher requires an experimental (investigative) project, a presentation of a scientific principle, a report on a science topic, a collection of items, or a science model. Most science fairs require an experiment, have a hypothesis, test the hypothesis by following the scientific method, and come to a conclusion.
2. Find out what interests the student. What does your child do in his spare time? Does he ride horses, is she a soccer player? Is music a passion or do you have a budding engineer on your hands? If a student is already interested in a subject, they will naturally learn more about it.
3. Budget for time — and money. If your science fair is next week, you need to look for a quick and easy science project that can be done without ordering supplies from Outer Botswana. If you can’t afford special chemicals or science equipment, you’ll want to focus on projects that can use materials that are easy to find in your home.
4. Use all available resources to research a science project. Head to the library and check out books for science projects. You can also use the Internet. Go to the search engine and type “science project on vitamin C” or “science experiment on insulation”. Note, however, that many books and websites have demonstration projects rather than experiments. So, again, beware of finding the right kind of project.
5. Make a list of possible projects, and work together to choose the best one!