“It’s science fair time!” Those words cause many parents to panic and ask questions like, “How are we going to have time for this?” ”What experiment should my child do?” ”I have no science background–how am I going to help?” ”Where do we begin?”
Don’t panic… help is on the way. Completing a science fair project is not as difficult as you might think and, believe it or not, it can even be really fun! Here at Steve Spangler Science we’ve created an entire science fair section on our website to help students, parents, and teachers through the science fair process. We take you through the process step-by-step, starting with the challenge of choosing a topic and ending with suggestions for the display board and presentation tips. We discuss the scientific method in detail and guide you through the requirements of any good science fair project. We also have a science fair experiment library for you to browse and some excellent sample science fair projects.
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
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It’s January and it’s Science Fair season. The keywords, “science fair projects,” “easy science fair ideas,” and “science fair help” are some of the top searched terms on Google in the month of January as students and their parents get online to look for help on their science fair projects.
Participating in the school science fair is a fantastic opportunity to learn about the scientific method, ask new questions, discover new science facts, conduct experiments and gain a new understanding of how science works. It also builds self confidence and public speaking skills.
My favorite part of the science fair is the bright smiles and prideful faces of the students who participate. In my daughter’s school, participating in the science fair is strictly extra-curricular. I am always so proud of each and every student who dedicates the time and
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If you loved Steve Spangler’s Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes, then get ready for Fire Bubbles and Exploding Toothpaste. This second volume of 25 new and extraordinary experiments will bring out the mad scientist in everyone. With beautiful photographs, materials lists and step by step instructions this book will uncover the how-to and why for each experiment.
This book also includes a special teachers-only section that reveals some of Steve Spangler’s secrets for making science come alive in the classroom. Don’t worry, this book isn’t just for cool science teachers, it’s for parents and homeschoolers, science fair participants and science enthusiasts of all ages.
The goal of the science fair is to teach the scientific method and give students insight into how to theorize, set up, perform and draw conclusions from an experiment. But it’s so much more than just boring science steps. It gets kids excited about independent learning, reaching, researching and discovering. This isn’t something you read about in a text book, it’s something you create, build and find your own answers. Creativity also helps in building a science fair project board – they are works of art!
Students also learn public speaking skills during the fair when presenting their project and discussing it with fair visitors.
And through all of this hard work, speaking, creating, testing and concluding, the kids build self-confidence and pride in their work. My favorite part of the science fair is walking around and seeing the pride and joy on all of the kids’ faces. Now, how can that be dreaded?
By Guest Blogger Debbie Leibold 
