Tagged With: making a good science fair project great
What will the Science Fair Judge ask me?
Judges are the “referees” in the sport of science fair. As with most refereed sports, the losing teams will often blame the referees for failure and, in some cases that is the case, and in other cases you just got beat. Since there is no appeal process, no coach’s challenge, and no instant replay for … Continue reading
One Day Unique Science Fair Experiment with COFFEE!
I usually do not write out all the details of an experiment because I want you (whether you are a mentor or a student) to have a hand in designing the experiment. I think that just following directions of a detailed procedure that someone else wrote, isn’t really experiencing science. It’s closer to baking or … 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
Whether weather is a good topic for your science fair project … or not
Generally, weather-related science fair projects score well with teachers and judges because they require time and effort, much like plant projects. It is possible to do idea #2 or #3 in a weekend if the weather cooperates (i.e. it rains or snows when you need it to), but typically you will need at least 1 … Continue reading
What do scientists do?
Hold your horses! Cool your jets! Take it down a notch! Take a chill pill! The English language is wonderfully redundant — there are many ways to say the same thing. It turns out that a bacterial community is also redundant too. In my “day job” I do full time research on aquatic bacteria. Background … Continue reading
Scientific American Guest Blogs
Periodically, I post blogs on the Scientific American Guest Blog. http://www.scientificamerican.com/ Here are examples: 3 Strategies for an Original Science Fair project idea: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2011/11/21/3-strategies-for-an-original-science-fair-project/ How to answer the 5 most common questions from a science fair judge: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2011/12/16/how-to-answer-the-5-most-common-questions-from-a-science-fair-judge/ Anatomy of a science fair project: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/01/12/anatomy-of-a-science-fair-project/
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
New Year’s Resolution: Design your own science fair project!
Think about your favorite recipe, one you make the exact same way every time. Perhaps the recipe is for chocolate chip cookies, or banana bread, or apple pie. Now imagine you are partway through the recipe and realize you are missing one key ingredient, for example, milk or sugar. What would you do? I would … Continue reading
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