When I was growing up, my school did not do a science fair. I had never been to a science fair until my oldest was in kindergarten. All I knew was it had something to do with baking soda volcanoes.
Fast forward several years, and I now organize the science fair and encourage kids to get involved. Through Steve Spangler Science, I also help parents, teachers and students with their projects. Science fair and volcanoes may go hand in hand, but the ever popular demonstration is not actually a science fair project.
A science fair project asks a “what if” question, which leads to a variable and eventually finding an answer or at the very least, a big discovery. A science demonstration, like our volcano, is used to illustrate a science concept.
Another extremely popular demonstration is quickly taking over the volcano as a classic science fair project – dropping Mentos into Diet Coke. This is also a demonstration.
But can you take a demonstration and turn it into a science fair project? Absolutely. All you need to do is C3 it. The three C’s stand for Change,
Sisters Keira and Shaylie are student scientists with a real knack for chemistry. They live in Bend, Oregon and along with friend Caroline, have turned a bathroom in their home as well as a playroom into science labs.
We had the pleasure of learning about these exceptional girls around the holidays. They had a regular Christmas wish list and a second, Steve Spangler Science wish list. After watching some of their experiment videos and hearing about their scientific discoveries in their homemade lab, in their driveway and in the dark, we had to share their amazing talent and zest for learning.
Keira, 12, is described by her dad as a “very studious child.” She was placed in a TAG (Talented and Gifted) program by her kindergarten teacher. Over the years, science has become her favorite subject. Her best friend Caroline, 11, helps with the science activities.
Sister Shaylie, 9, is more of an inventor and sometimes the assistant when the girls perform experiments in their lab.
Keira says she and Caroline really got into science in 5th grade when their class took a field trip to a local
As everyone is well aware of by now, the Broncos are playing the New England Patriots in the Playoffs this weekend. Tim Tebow and his team are traveling to Boston to try and keep their Super Bowl dreams alive.
This Broncos season has been nothing but unpredictable and exciting. During the game, you won’t want to break away from the TV for even a second. Here are some ideas to quickly open a can of Pringles, prepare frozen food and celebrate every touchdown.
These demonstrations are meant for entertainment and educational purposes and are not meant to actually be done at home. Here is more information on the experiments in this video:
During the winter months, static electricity can build up and cause a shock when we touch a piece of metal or someone else. You can actually feel, see and hear the spark jump from your body or see it when you rub two cotton blankets together. But what happens to cause that shock and zap and why is it worse in the winter?
First you have to understand atoms, the things that make up all matter. Do you remember high school physics? The nucleus of an atom has neutrons and protons (positive). The shell is made up of electrons (negative). When the number of electrons and protons are even, the atom is neutrally charged. If there are more electrons, the atom is negatively charged. More protons, it’s positively charged.
Some atoms want to keep their electrons, while others will give them up when they
Sometimes the hardest part of the entire science fair is figuring out what you want to do for your project. I know from personal experience with my own sons that it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking you have to do something amazing in order to make the project worthwhile. My sons’ best projects have revolved around their interests and were really quite basic, but used the scientific method to answer a question. A few years back, my older son (a competitive golfer) wanted to know if a warm or a cold golf ball traveled farther so he ran some tests to find an answer. My younger son created the Helmet Crash-The Melon Test experiment as a response to a lot of information on the news about ski accidents and people not wearing helmets. These were not complicated questions, but they were ideas that interested my kids.
In trying to come up with your own idea, ask yourself a basic question: What are you interested in? Brainstorm a list of topics in
By Blog Editor Susan Wells
