Tag - uv color changing beads

Science Fair 911 – Tips for Parents

By Guest Blogger Debbie Leibold 

“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.

Our hope is that you will find the resources
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Make Your Own Mixed Up Chameleon with UV Color Changing Beads

Ann Bridgewater, a teacher who traveled to Denver all the way from Hong Kong to attend Science in the Rockies this year, shared a very cool project with us. She uses UV Color Changing Beads to craft Mixed Up Chameleons for a little craft/science/literacy lesson all rolled into one.

Ann weaves embroidery thread in and around the beads to make a chameleon shape. (You can Google this if you need a pattern.) She used black pony beads for the nose, eyes, and feet. Then she reads The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle. Her students then take their chameleons out into the sunlight to detect UV rays with their beads. The once white and black chameleon is now colorfully mixed up.

What a fun idea to bring a character to life while mixing a little science and literacy.