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Steve Spangler and his team of award-winning teachers will help you make your next science fair project a guaranteed success with our amazing science fair project kits, free science experiments and engaging how-to science project videos.
The best science fair project ideas from Steve Spangler Science also are among the easiest for aspiring your scientists to demonstrate at schools. Browse our list of ideas by science fair topic, or watch our entertaining Science Fair 101 video for free tips and ideas. On this page, you can sign up to download a free guide to science fair ideas.
Browse the largest collection of hands-on science videos anywhere online. With more than 180 million views, Steve Spangler’s science videos are a perfect place to start your search for the perfect science fair project idea.
Science Fair Tips for Parents
We call it our Science Fair Survival Guide for Parents. How do you tell the difference between a science activity and a science project? How complicated should your child make his project to score a high grade?
Scroll down to learn how to understand the difference between a science demonstration and a hands-on science experiment. A teacher can demonstrate an idea with a simple science activity. Science experiments are more about the “what if” factor. How can one change in methods or materials lead to different outcomes, and why?
Relying on simple, instantly recognized materials usually found around the house will offer younger children confidence. Keep the experiment simple. For example, one variable in an experiment focused on bubbles can be the different amounts of glycerin added to water and dish soap to produce different effects.
To help your child make his science fair project a success, visit our Steve Spangler Science Store for science fair-ready kits and accessories.
Use Common Materials
Use Common Materials
Children, especially younger ones, learn science best and understand scientific ideas better if they can experiment and explore ideas and concepts that are common place in their world. For example, if your child loves to play with bubbles, design a science project where you experiment mixing different amount of water, dish soap and glycerin to come up with the best bubble solution. The key is to make sure there is only one variable in the test – keep the amount of water and dish soap the same, but change the amount of glycerin used in each test batch. The goal is not to let the materials distract from the actual process of experimenting and gathering data.
Demonstrations vs. Experiments
Demonstrations vs. Experiments
The first key to engaging students in doing real science is to understand the difference between a science demonstration and a hands-on science experiment. Demonstrations are usually performed by the teacher and are typically used to illustrate a science concept. Science experiments, on the other hand, give participants the opportunity to pose their own “what if…?” questions, which inevitably lead to controlling a variable – changing some aspect of the procedure or the materials used to perform the experiment.
Use Online Resources as Research
Use Online Resources as Research
There’s nothing wrong with using online resources like www.SteveSpanglerScience.com as a way for you and your child to preview some clever, eye-catching science activities. With the growing popularity and accessibility of online videos, it’s easy to introduce your child to some great topics that might otherwise been passed over. The key is not to just copy or duplicate the activity. Remember, most so-called science experiments are really science activities (follow the recipe and something happens). Instead, you want to use the activity to spark a new idea or to test out a way to change the “standard” activity in an effort to ask new questions and make a new discovery.
Keep it Simple
Keep it Simple
Unless you’re entering the Science Fair World Final Competition for Geniuses, it’s probably best to keep the science project simple. Instead of trying to solve the world’s problem, focus on a project that allows your child engage in the basic elements of the scientific method – to ask questions, formulate a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, gather data, compare and analyze the data and to share the discovery.
Discovery vs. Conclusion
Discovery vs. Conclusion
Teachers who have used the same science fair evaluation form for the last 30 years might not use the term “discovery” as much as we would like. Discoveries are very difference from conclusions, and it’s important to teach your child the difference. For example, I discovered that dropping Mentos mints into soda creates an eruption. That’s a discovery – not a conclusion – and this discovery leads me to ask more questions. How many Mentos do you need to make a soda geyser shoot up 20 feet? To answer this question, I have to set-up a series of experiments where I test what happens when I drop different numbers of Mentos into soda. In this case, the number of Mentos used in each experiment is the only thing that changes – it’s the variable – while everything else stays the same. Each test result leads me to make a new discovery – the test using four Mentos make a ten foot geyser while five Mentos created a fifteen foot geyser. Discoveries are just that… an observation with no right or wrong answer. Only after you’ve made a number of discoveries can you formulate a conclusion. In the case of the Mentos experiment, you discovered that there was a relationship between the number of Mentos you used and the height of the geyser. So, it’s fair to make this conclusion… A soda geyser using ten Mentos will shoot up higher than a geyser using only two Mentos mints.
Enthusiasm is Contagious
Enthusiasm is Contagious
If you are excited about your child’s science fair project, they will be excited too! Use this opportunity to teach your child the importance of building life long learning skills. Conducting science experiments and teaching process skills take time, and the unfortunate truth is that teachers may not have the necessary time in class to allow the children to explore on their own. That’s why it’s so important for you as the parent to take the time to create a meaningful learning experience and to rekindle your child’s natural sense of wonder.
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