Australian Science

Kids just get tired of doing the same old science fair projects. There’s one about volcanoes and another about eggs and another using baking soda. But it does not have to be this way. There are science fair projects that are really different from the usual, and very kid friendly.

For example consider a science fair project which helps you determine whether music will have any affect on blood pressure. Can you imagine how much fun the youngsters will have playing different types of music and measuring your blood pressure to see what affect it has? Will Beethoven and Bach cause pressure to go up or down? What about hard rock music? Frank Sinatra or Barbra Streisand? Will women react differently then men? Will boys respond in a different manner than girls? These are all interesting hypotheses for science fair projects. The research that your student does will provide the answers to these interesting questions. There is a website called Science Made Simple which can provide some more ideas.

Did you ever wonder who has a better memory, a man or a woman? Or does a girl remember things better than a boy? All of this type of experimenting can be done in another science fair project on the subject of memory. The student will gather his or her subjects and put them thru a series of tests and drills testing their ability to remember things. The science fair project on the subject of memory can be as simple or as complicated as the student wishes. Different levels of involvement are appropriate for different grades when doing science fair projects.

After all, memory is a function of the brain’s ability to retain information. There are many types of memory based on duration, nature and retrieval of perceived items, which may include encoding, storage and retrieval. There is for example short term memory which refers to the exact time that something is perceived, and there is long term memory which can go on for many years. You may forget a seven digit string of numbers in a short time, but you may remember your old telephone number for many years after you have discarded that number.

These are just a few suggestions for your science fair, beyond the usual boring choices. If you search the web and think about your interests, you are sure to find many more interesting topics.

Everyone has seen the tired old science fair project, such as the volcano or the styrofoam solar system, which have been favorites of many parents for what feels like generations.

These projects are relatively simple and easy from the parent’s point of view, but they are incredibly bad choices for the children involved. Why?

These are the kind of projects that are so well-known that even the students know what is going to happen. And when that happens, they are not learning anything new, and their performance suffers during the presentation portion of science fairs because of it.

Science fair judges have gotten bored with these types of projects, and that’s a big problem for students who endeavor to win prizes in their science fair. In the end, this kind of project is only really good for the parents, and surprisingly, these kinds of projects are not even particularly cheap!

What you need to find is a unique science fair project, or at least something that beats those tired old projects. Not only will this help your child learn more, it can give them a much better chance of winning the science fair.

Often, these competitions can include a scholarship or a nice cash prize, and even those that do not can often lead to a science scholarship later on down the line. That’s a nice benefit, and aside from the grades, the knowledge, and the experience your child is getting with their participation, it gives you a great reason to try and do something unique.

So what kind of unique science fair projects are there? The internet seems like a decent first option, but given the prevalence of use, you can guarantee that large science fairs include a duplicate project, especially if you took your idea from a popular science fair blog or website. Even in a small science fair, or an in-class science fair, you have to guess that there are more than a few people who are visiting the same websites that you are, including the judges and the teachers who are grading your students. Duplicate projects mean trouble for the judges and the teachers, as it negates the true benefit of science fairs: having an exploratory experience.

So, if you start with an idea from the internet, try to make it your own. What can you change, or add, to make it unique and much more interesting, both for yourself and for the judges. This will help you develop a winning project.

Elementary Science Projects are often the first introduction that a parent has to the wonderful world of school projects.

The first science project is the perfect time for a kid to be amazed at the way things work in the world around us. Learning about stuff like friction, static electricity and fire is fascinating and fun.

Often, however, the process of deciding on a topic, finding a project, and getting it to work leads to frustration for parents and students. Somewhere between the fun and the fair, the fun often evaporates with that first science project. It shouldn’t be that way! A science project should be a wonderful time of discovery and learning for a parent and child.

But what if you’re like most parents, and are not a rocket scientist? How can you choose and help your child do a good, if elementary, science project?

Before you discuss it with your child, do your homework. If your elementary school child has been assigned a science project, you already know that your biggest step is choosing a topic. Don’t make the mistake of being too broad and asking your child, “Do you want to do a project about electricity?” Find some specific projects that follow guidelines of your science teacher or science fair. Then, describe the project in exciting terms. “Here’s a cool project about how yeast has enough gas – yes, that kind – to can blow up a balloon!” or “You take the shell off an egg in this project and then bounce the egg on the floor!”

A science fair project is a student directed scientific study. The student has complete control over their project and complete control over the quality of their results.

What is so intriguing about science fair projects is that they serve multiple functions. They inspire students to be innovative, they educate students about the scientific method and they excite students about science.

So what exactly makes up a science fair project? The answer can be found in the following steps.

Find a Topic

The first thing that a science fair project is, is an exploration of a specific science topic. This topic can be related to anything that interests the student. Topics can be found by paging through textbooks and magazines, watching science news stories or by creating a list of things that you are interested in.

Develop a Hypothesis

After a topic has been selected the student needs to develop a hypothesis. The hypothesis is a prediction that relates to the topic that was selected. It needs to focus on one independent variable and one dependent variable.

If the topic is extremely complex then several hypotheses can be developed. Each hypothesis will focus on only one set of variables. The hypothesis is the foundation of the science fair project.

Design an Experiment

An experiment is another fundamental part of a science fair project. The experiment has one role, to test the hypothesis. In order to test the hypothesis effectively it will need to isolate the variable being tested.

It is important to include a control experiment in the design of your overall experiment setup. The control experiment will be used to establish a baseline of data for comparison.