How to….
How to Make a Great Science Fair Project Backboard: An example
Many of you should be ready to make your project backboards. Here is a great example of an attractive board with a good balance of art and science. Sarah is in the 6th grade. Some things to notice: -a catchy title -a clear testable question -logical and expected order of sections from left to right … Continue reading
The KEY to designing your own science fair project is …
So you have to do a science fair project and there are plenty of websites that will give you detailed, step-by-step directions like a recipe for a cake – but, that’s not “real science”. If you have found your way to my website – I hope you are at least thinking about designing your own … Continue reading
How to prepare for a successful science fair project experience
It’s never too early to start planning for a science fair project. Here is a quick checklist so that you, as a mentor/parent, will know you have all the parts and can complete the project efficiently and successfully: First, keep in mind the basic FORMULA FOR SUCCESS: Scientific method (45%) + Creative idea (45%) + … Continue reading
Projects you can start this year, for next year. Idea #3 = Plant Projects
If you know how to do a project AND you know you want to, or need to, do one for next year – why not start one now? It is the perfect time to start a plant-themed science fair project because there will be sufficient time for the plants to grow by a measurable amount. … Continue reading
How to prepare a final report for your science fair project
Generally a teacher would give guidelines as to what is expected in the final report, but if none come home with the project directions, then I recommend including the following sections (similar to a scientific paper) in this order: • Title, author, date • Abstract: 1 paragraph summary of entire project • Introduction: Background information … Continue reading
How to graph data for your science fair project
Once you have your data, you will need to present it to your teacher and science fair judges. In a science publication, you would choose between a table and a graph, but for the science fair project it is acceptable, and even encouraged, to showcase the data in both forms. If you have to pick … Continue reading
Backboard Basics for Science Fair Projects
The backboard is the final part of most science fair projects. If your teacher has given you directions on the preferred layout, then use that — but in the event your are not sure of what goes where, here is a generic backboard template. Choose 1 to 3 colors to make the display board attractive, … Continue reading
How to do a successful sports-themed science fair project
Option 1: Give up early and find another topic Generally, the biggest problem with every sports-themed project is the lack of standardization of some part of the procedure (see “fatal flaws” page). There is just NO WAY to make sure that you, as the experimenter, hit the baseball, kick the soccer ball, throw the football, … Continue reading
Replicate! Replicate! Replicate!
The single biggest mistake in all the science fair projects I evaluated yesterday was no replication or incorrect replication, so today’s post is geared toward covering this specific topic. All science experiments MUST be replicated. That means you have to repeat everything you did, exactly the same way (to the best of your ability), a … Continue reading
How to make the Mentos-Soda explosion into a winning science fair project
So you really just want to make a mess and blow something up, but if you learn scientific method along the way, we’ll call it a win-win! First, check out the description of the reaction and photos from those that have tried it, here: Mentos Diet Coke Geyser at Steve Spangler Science http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/original-mentos-diet-coke-geyser via @SpanglerScience … Continue reading
