Step 1: Pick a Topic and Choose a Project
For Example:
Laundry Detergent–Does water temperature effect how well it dissolves?
Tennis–Does the shape of the racquet or the way it is strung affect the speed of the ball?
Flower Bulbs-What temperature is best to start bulb germination?
Memory-What affect do smells and/or sounds have on memory?
Be Creative. Think “outside the box!” Ask yourself: What am I interested in learning more about? What would happen if I did this ? Why do we think that something must always be the same, can I find a way to change the outcome? Questions are important.
Be Flexible. Don't limit your choices. There are lots of topics to choose from. Think about agriculture, gardening, technology, nutrition, sports, textiles, psychology and the environment..
Be Organized. Do you know when the project is due? the required length? presentation guidelines? which elements must be included? Do you understand the rules and the teacher's directions? Make a chart to keep track of tasks and due dates. This will help you organize your project. Give yourself plenty of time!
Need Ideas? You can use books, magazines, and/or Internet sites to help you.
• The library has many science and technology encyclopedias where you can find ideas:
Encyclopedia of Sports Science Ref 613.71 Enc
Encyclopedia of Technology and Applied Science (11Vol.) Ref 603 Enc
How Stuff Works Ref 600 Bra
The New Book of Popular Science (6 Vol.) Ref 500 New
McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology (20 Vol.) Ref 503 McG
Science of Everyday Things (2 Vol.) Ref 500 Kni
Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia (2Vol.) Ref 503 Van
World Book Encyclopedia of Science (8 Vol.) Ref 503 Wor
• Magazines are wonderful sources to look for topics. The Library has these and more:
American Heritage of Invention & Technology • Astronomy • Aquarium Fish • Aviation Week & Space Technology • Bioscience • Birds & Blooms • Bird Talk • Boy's Life • Cat Fancy • Consumer Research • Consumer Reports • Discover • Discovery Girls • Dog's World • Environment • FDA Consumer • Flying Models • Girl's Life • Health • Horticulture • Mayo Clinic Health Letter • Nutrition Action Letter • Organic Gardening • Popular Mechanics • Popular Science • Psychology Today • Ranger Rick • Rocks & Minerals • Science • Science News • Science World • Scientific American • Sky & Telescope • Weatherwise • Wild Earth
• There are several Internet sites that provide hundreds of Science Fair Ideas. Visit:
Cyber-Fair has sample projects and a list of student projects. Visit the “Idea Generation” page at http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/ideas.html
Elmhurst Public Library Kids Resources, Science Fair Ideas http://www.elmhurstpubliclibrary.org/aboutepl/sciencefair.php
FirstGov for Kids: Science and Math pages will link you up with a variety of topic suggestions. Websites include Agricultural Ideas, Drinking Water, Air Quality, Nature Watch and Weather. There are many more at http://www.kids.gov/k_science.htm
KidSpace @The Internet Public Library provides links to many websites on its “Choosing a Topic: Ideas for your project” page at http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/projectguide/topic.html
Math Ideas for Science Fair Projects allows you to visit the Student Center where a number of project topics can be found. For something different visit http://mathforum.org/teachers/mathproject.html
Science Fair Ideas sponsored by NASA has links to “gazillions” of topic ideas. Visit the resource page at http://lep694.gsfc.nasa.gov/lepedu/ScienceFair.html
Science Fair Project Ideas is a list of suggested topics compiled by the Chicago Academy of Sciences at http://othello.mech.northwestern.edu/~peshkin/scifair/chias_ideas.html
USGS Science Fair Project Ideas lists projects on earthquakes from the US Geological Survey http://earthquake.usgs.gov/4kids/sciencefair.html
Step 2: Gather Information about Your Topic
General Overviews provide basic information on your topic. A specialized encyclopedia or dictionary can give you a good idea about the concepts and terms you will encounter when designing your project. Besides the encyclopedias mentioned above < Step 1>, other subject sources might include:
American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening (Ref 635 Ame)
Atlas of the Universe (520 Moo)
Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists (5Vol.) (Ref 509.22 Bio)
Chemical Formulary (Ref 603 C42
Computer Science (4 Vol.) (Ref 004 Com
Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavior Science (Ref 150.3 Cor)
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics Ref (541.9 CRC)
CRC Handbook of Mathematics (Ref 510.83 W 37h)
Destructive and Useful Insects (Ref 632.7 Met)
Encyclopedia of Computers & Computer History (2 Vol.) (Ref 004.03 Enc)
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (3 Vol.) (Ref 641.03 Enc)
Encyclopedia of Food Science and Technology (Ref 664 Enc)
Encyclopedia of Life Sciences (13 Vol.) (J Ref 570 Enc)
Environmental Encyclopedia (Ref 363.7 Env)
Foods and Nutrition Encyclopedia (2 Vol.) (Ref 641.Foo)
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia (17 Vol.) (Ref 591 Grz)
Health Matters! (8 Vol.) (Ref 613 Hea)
Human Factors Design Handbook (Ref 620.82 Woo)
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees (Ref 582.16 Mor)
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Chemistry (4 Vol.) (Ref 540.3 Mac)
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Earth Science (2 Vol.) (Ref 550.3 Enc)
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Physics (4 Vol.) (Ref 530.03 Mac)
Marshal Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of Plants & Earth Science (Ref 580.3 Mar)
Search for Books on your Specific Topic. Use the SWAN Catalog to find books, videos, and other material on the particular topic you have chosen. Ask a librarian if you need help.
• For Science Fair books use “Subject” search terms like: Science projects and Science – Exhibitions
• For Materials on your chosen topic use a precise “Subject” search or use “Keywords.”
You can combine Keyword terms like “memory” and “smell” for precision. Use “and” between your search words when using keywords. Keyword examples:
Environment, Physics, Electricity, DNA, Weather, Plants, Gardening, Sports science, Astronomy, Formularies, Health, Medical, Ecology, Insects, Birds, Cats, Textiles, Volcanoes, Electronics, Sleep, Ants, Memory, Nutrition, Motors, Aircraft, Chemistry, Water, Smell
Search for Magazine Articles on your Topic. The Library provides a number of different magazine databases, some of which can be searched at home using your Elmhurst Public Library Card as your password. For a complete list of Newspaper and Magazine Databases see the Library's website at http://www.elmhurstpubliclibrary.org / You can link to the Databases through the “Databases” Link or through the “Kids” Link.
Some of the Databases you might use are:
• EBSCO Host
• Gale Information Center Gold: InfoTrac
• Middle Search Plus – EBSCO
• ProQuest
• When searching a magazine database, try to use the “Advanced Search” screen. For Example use Middle Search Plus for the Tennis racquet project. Use a subject search for a broad term like TENNIS and words in the text or title for a concept like “string pattern.”
• How you search matters! For Example try InfoTrac on the Memory and Smell project. Using the Advanced Search you get 11 articles when both Memory and Smell are subjects; when Memory is the subject and Smell a keyword, you get 14 articles; when Memory is a keyword and Smell is a subject you get 19 articles; and, when both Memory and Smell are keywords you get 29 articles. But you need to ask which articles were the best, more is not always better!
• Look carefully at your results pages. When you find a really good article that meets your needs, study the terms and subject listed in that article. Try a different search using the terms you “mined” from this really good article to find others closer to your topic. Be flexible; try different subjects, keywords and concepts until you find what you need. Then learn from your best searches.
• Sometimes you can find Magazines on the Internet that can help you gather information. Not all of these magazines will be free so you must discuss this with your parents . Sometimes the Library has access to these same journal articles through subscription databases, so ask a librarian for help.
A source like Agriculture Research Magazine ( http://www.ars.usda.gov ) might be free but you will need to register to read the article.
• NEVER SIGN UP FOR A FREE SUBSCRIPTION WITHOUT YOUR PARENT'S CONSENT AND KNOWLEDGE.
• NEVER GIVE OUT PERSONAL INFORMATION TO AN ONLINE WEBSITE PROVIDER WITHOUT YOUR PARENT'S PERMISSSION.
Ask an Expert. There are several science websites that offer help. Some might have your answer in the “Archived Questions” section so take a look first. A few “Ask an Expert” resources will not answer Science Fair questions, but will answer a specific science orientated question. Be patient, not all questions are answered immediately.
University of Illinois Extension Service may answer your phone question directly, or may direct you to their website where you may find the information, or may direct a question to an expert in the field. The DuPage County Extension office phone number is 630-653-4114. Their website is http://www.extension.uiuc.edu
Ask Dr. Math at http://forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math/
Ask Dr. Universe at http://www.wsu.edu/DrUniverse/Contents.html
Ask a Scientist at http://olbers.kent.edu/alcomed/Ask/ask.shtml
Mad Scientist: Ask a question at http://madsci.wustl.edu/submit.html
Newton's Ask a Scientist at http://newton.dep.anl.gov/aasquesv.htm
Scientific American: Ask the Experts http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_directory.cfm
Step 3: Plan Your Project and Conduct the Experiment
Decide exactly what you are going to do. What is the purpose of the project? Write a project title that reflects your topic and the way you plan to investigate the question you asked about that topic. Be clear. Be concise.
Determine how you are going to set up your experiment. What equipment will you use? Where will you get the equipment? How long will you conduct the experiment?
How will you record the data you gather? Be complete.
Use the Scientific Method to guide your research.
• Make a good guess as to what you think will happen . (This guess is called a hypothesis.) At the end of your experiment, you may find out that your guess was wrong. This is OK because you have learned something new about your topic. Did you know that for every drug that makes it to the marketplace, 40,000 failed? You're in good company!
• Plan your experiment. Determine your Constants and Variable . The Variable is the factor in your experiment that you are testing, it must be different for each test.The Constant is the control factor that serves as a standard to judge the experiment's outcome. The constant is something that will not change and must be as nearly identical as possible in all the trials.
(For example in the Flower Bulb Forcing project, the Constant will be the flower bulbs used, say tulips. You must use the same variety and size tulip bulbs in each trial. The Variable will be the temperatures you use to start the bulbs, from well below freezing to very warm.)
• Do the experiment as you planned it. Set and follow the rules, also known as protocols. Observe the results carefully. Record your data accurately. Include all factors like date, time, size. Be objective. Don't focus your attention on what you expect to happen. Focus on what actually is happening. If time permits, do the entire experiment over again.
• Evaluate the experiment. Explain what happened. What conclusions has the data lead you to make? Do your conclusions agree with your hypothesis? What surprised you? What worked well? What didn't? What would you change? How can what you tested be applied “in the real world?”
MOST IMPORTANT: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?
• Write a report . Plan how you will present your findings. Tell exactly what you did and when you did it. List all materials you used. Decide whether or not you will use tables, graphs, or charts to organize your data. Make sure you have included all the things required by the teacher.
For Help in working on your project, the Library has books like:
Blue Ribbon Science Projects by Maxine Iritz 507.8 Iri
Botany: 49 more science fair projects by Robert Bonnet 581.078 Bon
Botany: high school science fair projects by H. Dashefsky 581.078 Das
The Complete Handbook of Science Fair Projects by Julianne Bochinski 507.9 Boc
Earth Science: 49 science fair projects by Robert Bonnet 550 Bon
Engineering Projects for Young Scientists by Peter Goodwin 620.0076 Goo
Environmental Science: 49 science fair projects by Robert Bonnet 628.078 Bon
Environmental Science: high school science fair experiments by H. Dashefsky 507.8 Das
Entomology: high school science fair experiments by H. Dashefsky 595.7 Das
Ideas for Science Projects by Robert Gardner 507.8 Gar
Math Projects for Young Scientists by David Thomas 510 Tho
Janice VanCleave's Electricity: mind boggling experiments you can turn into science fair projects by Janice VanCleave 537.078 Van
Microbiology: high school science fair experiments by H. Dashefsky 576.078 Das
More Award Winning Science Fair Projects by Julianne Bochinski 507.8 Boc
Science Fair for Non-Scientists by Carl Tant 507.8 Tan
Science Fair Projects: physics by Robert Bonnet 530.078 Bon
Zoology: high school science fair experiments by H. Dashefsky 591.076 Das
For Internet help on using the Scientific Method in your Science Fair Project see:
Cyber-Fair “Steps to Prepare a Science Fair Project” at http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/steps.html and “Experimental Science Projects: an Introductory Level Guide” at http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/SciProjIntro.html
Neuroscience for Kids outlines “Successful Science Fair Projects” at http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/fair.html
Science Fair Project on the Web “The Scientific Method” at http://sciencefairproject.virtualave.net/scientific_method.htm
Scifair.org “Project Steps” at http://www.scifair.org/articles/reports/steps.shtml
Step 4: Display your Project
Components of a Science Fair Display
• Project topic, title, and purpose are clearly and prominently displayed.
• Steps you followed are easy to understand.
• Data is presented using clear graphs, tables, and/or charts.
• Include specimens, photographs, and/or samples that are appropriate.
• Use attractive colors, neatly printed and legible labels, and background that
is large enough to arrange materials in an appealing manner.
• Anticipate questions that judges and visitors may ask.
• Practice your presentation. Be enthusiastic about your project.
• Be Neat. Be Accurate. Be Complete. Be Proud of Your Work.
Use Sample Judging Sheets to Evaluate Your Project.
Examples of judging criteria can help you design the best project. See:
Cyber-Fair http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/rubric.htm
Science Fair Project http://sciencefairproject.virtualave.net/judging_sheet.htm
Help with Presentation Elements
Effective Presentations: how to present facts, figures, and ideas successfully by E. Hodnett 808.51 H 669
Graphs by E. Catherall J 511.5 Cat
Graphs and their Uses by Ø. Ore 510.84 Or3
Looking Good in Presentations by M. Joss & M. Rabb 005.75 Rab
Math in Science and Nature: finding patterns in the world around us By Robert Gardner 501.51 Gar
School Smarts by B. Whitney J 373.18 Whi
Tables, Charts, and Graphs by S. Etherington 005.369 WORD
Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte 001.4226 Tuf
“Charts and Graphs” http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/ScienceInternet/ChartsGraphs.html
IPL Kidspace: Science Fair Project Resource Guide http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/projectguide/presentation.html
Science Fair Central: the display http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/scifairstudio/handbook/display.html
Science Fair Central: Presentation and Evaluation http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/scifairstudio/handbook/presandeval.html
Science Fair Project Checklist
_1_Pick Your Topic and Project
_2_Learn All You Can about Your Topic _3_Make a Good Guess
_4_Follow the Scientific Method _5_Do the Experiment & Analyze Results
_6_Evaluate Your Project _7_Write a Report
_8_Present Your Project
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