Science research » Ideas For Science Fair Projects

Evaluating Science Fair Experiment Ideas

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:14:55 +0000

Science fair projects help to achieve the impossible. Nowadays there is no famine of information and experiment ideas for science fair projects, but not all ideas are good ones. It can take a discerning eye to see the minute differences in between many of these projects, and if yours doesn’t stand out, then you are liable to be in trouble. However, armed with a good experiment idea, and some good information, you can create an excellent project.

There are three basic thoughts before choosing a topic for the science fair. This means narrowing down the project to one specific area. That is breaking down a big project into smaller ones and trying to solve them one by one. The second basic thought is to find out the right difficulty level. And the third one is choosing the right topic that is within the student’s capability.

After selecting the topic, design the test or display. The topic can be researched in the internet and in the library to get the available and related information. Then make a list of materials, ideas and thoughts that will affect the result. The outcome of the science fair experiment should be decided well ahead of time. Take down the procedure of the experiment and make a schedule to complete all the steps in the procedure one by one.

The main idea is to investigate a project that would ask questions, builds a hypothesis and derives a conclusion. Then check the hypothesis by constructing experiments using scientific methods. Experiments should be based on extensive research done from books, research papers or any other materials found in the library on the chosen topic. The report should illustrate the important concepts found in the research.

An experiment idea can be a project that consist either a compilation of objects or elements that has interesting artifacts. In this no hypothesis may be needed. It can also be a project that involves building up a model which may demonstrate a scientific principle.

An idea can come from anywhere. It can start from an idea. It can begin from what we see, hear, touch and smell around us in this world. It can also be a question asked and can be formed into a hypothesis and tested. This is science fair experiment idea in the creation. Science fair experiment ideas can be developed from an experience. It can be a thought about an issue in current events and form a hypothesis and draw a conclusion. There are thousands of sources of original ideas like these, or you can look for an idea on the internet or in textbooks at your local library.

Lastly, ideas should include safety measures. A laboratory should be a safe place to conduct the experiments. Think about the experiment all the time and what you are doing at that time to prevent accidents. Follow rules, safety measures and use good judgment to perform a project. This is of absolute importance, since no assignment should jeopardize your health.

With these ideas and experiments in place, you can begin to work on a very high quality project that will earn you an excellent grade.

By: Jordan Matthews

Green Science Fair Projects – Creative Ideas For Environmentally Oriented Projects

admin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:25:19 +0000

Here are many ideas for science fair projects that are geared toward environmental awareness, renewable energy and sustainable living.

Wind Energy Demonstration – Build a wind tower with small electric motor which generates power to do work or charge a battery. Use an external fan or hair dryer to simulate wind. Supply supporting information from major wind energy manufacturers.

Renewables Survey – Conduct a study on the best renewable energy sources to use in your area, and identify the opportunities and challenges to implementing such a plan. Interview providers, agencies, landowners.

Hydrogen Generation – Build a solar powered water hydrolyzer. Use a solar cell to split water into Hydrogen and Oxygen. Supporting information would describe the Hydrogen Economy and fuel cell powered devices.

Hydroelectric Power – Build a hydroelectric generator. Small scale to have falling water turn a turbine which generates electricity. Research and document the environmental tradeoffs of hydropower.

Biodiesel – Create biodiesel from discarded fryer oil. Show the reactions and the issues around using biodiesel in conventional diesel vehicles. Research new developments in biodiesel generation.

Concentrated Solar Power – Create a working model of a concentrated solar power (CSP) station. Discuss hot fluid flow and storage, load leveling.

Composting – Perform an analysis of various waste streams to understand the potential reduction from composting (cafeteria, home, restaurant, etc.). Supporting evidence on uses of compost or organic matter in biofuels.

Cheapest / Greenest Batteries – Calculate the life cycle cost of various types of batteries in typical applications. For example, how many alkaline, rechargable NiMH or Lithium AA would be required to operate a digital point-and-shoot for 1 hour per day for 1 year. Calculate the extended cost per year and measure the landfill and toxic metal contribution in addition to the total cost. Will require calculating life of various battery types in various applications.

Energy Audits – Create and execute an energy audit in various settings and attempt to measure the impact of various changes. Obtain electric bills or other usage metrics and do before/after data analysis. Focus on specific areas such as compact fluorescent (CF) lighting or setback thermostats.

Smart Power Strips – Some devices are sold that will measure electricity consumption on specific outlets. Consider using them to calculate the effectiveness of smart power strips, and calculate the payback period of a strip compared to the annual electricity usage avoided.

Carbon Footprint – Calculate the carbon footprint of various people you know. Suggest ways for them to lower their footprint. Explain the concept and compare footprints of your users to those in various places/countries.

Green Rooftops – Build a green rooftop and demonstrate the value in food/plant production and energy savings.

Waste Biomass to Energy – Research and conduct a survey of local agricultural or industrial processes that generate unused biomass that could be diverted to energy production through burning or ethanol production. Contact the waste stream generators and interview to understand their issues and the status of biomass reuse.

Cellulosic Ethanol – Demonstrate the process and effectiveness of various process or substances used to break down cellulose to fermentables for ethanol production. Ferment a control and various experimental settings and compare the quantity of ethanol produced.

Clean Water – Measure the water quality of various water sources such as ponds, lakes and streams. Note the quality variations of several samples from the same source over time and from various locations, such as upstream and downstream of an industrial site.

Landfill Gas Power – Demonstrate the generation of energy from landfill gases. Build a sealed landfill with organic material. Capture and show the methane generated and describe applications of landfill gas used to produce electricity.

Animal Waste Power. Demonstrate the generation of energy from animal waste. Similar to above but a little higher on the “gross” scale! Gather statistics on total mass of beef, pork and poultry waste generated in your country in one year and calculate the potential MWh per year of electricity which could be generated. Convert to currency.

Automobile Mileage Studies. Measure the impact of various mileage improvement strategies. It helps to have a vehicle with a reliable instantaneous MPG calculator. Maintain strict controls on ambient temperature, warmup, elevation change, wind and other nonvariables, and vary tire pressure, acceleration rate, vehicle speed, total vehicle weight and other factors. Run multiple nonsequential trials for each and show variability within and across variable groups. Make conclusions on effectiveness of each variable. Predict a target MPG from the combination of several factors and then experiment to see how close the actual values came to your predictions.

Electric Vehicle Charging Station. Design a solar powered electric car recharging station. Using current equipment specifications, calculate how large the station would need to be to recharge a current production electric vehicle. Estimate the cost of construction and years of operation to calculate cost per kWh and compare to conventionally-purchased electricity.

These are just a few ideas for combining Green with your next Science Fair project. Do Well!

By: John Huegel

Easy Science Projects for Kids

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:52:48 +0000

It’s important for kids to get involved in science from an early age, as exposure to scientific ideas and the world of exploration as soon as possible is the best way to foster a love for learning in your children that will last a lifetime. At the same time, scientific knowledge is cumulative, so kids have to start with a solid foundation if they are to develop the necessary scientific skills to succeed in school, and perhaps in a future career. Of course, when doing science projects with kids the most important thing to remember is to have fun! Youth science fair projects aren’t meant to transform your child into a scientist – they are meant to get the creative juices flowing within your child and help him or her continue to explore the natural world and make use of the imagination.

So where do you find ideas for science projects, if you want to get your child started on something at home? Luckily, these days you don’t have to look far to find science projects for your children – simply do an online search and you should be able to find tons of websites containing information and ideas pertaining to science fair projects and science for children in general. These websites list science projects and tell you exactly how to do them and what to do, so the process of helping your child discover science or prepare science fair projects for school is made easy.

In the past, it was easy for parents to become frustrated when helping kids with homework and coming up with ideas for science fair projects – now it’s easy to help them out and you don’t have to be a science whiz yourself! And if your child demonstrates a natural interest in science, it’s even more important that you encourage it from an early age. Whether or not you have to do a project for school, or complete a homework assignment, kids getting involved in science at home is a great idea!

In fact, doing their own science experiments at home is a great way to supplement the regular educational exposure your kids get during the day in the classroom. And if you home school your children coming up with fun and educational science experiments that are easy to recreate at home is the perfect way to help your kids exercise their minds and learn about science while having a lot of fun at the same time.

When you set up science projects for your kids to do at home, it makes learning fun – this will carry over to the child’s classroom experience and may even improve their grades overall. Of course, that is not the main goal of doing science experiments at home. Again, do these projects with your children as a fun activity and the learning will spring from that organically. Specifically, when searching for science projects for your kids to do at home it’s a good idea to find something your children, and maybe even their friends, will enjoy. Figure out what interests your child and go from there. Involving them in the process will help them naturally discover where their interests are and what type of experiments they’ll gain the most from.

You can find the instructions for these experiments for free, although you will have to purchase some basic supplies in most cases. At the same time, materials used in most of these projects are relatively inexpensive and not difficult to find.

By: Garry L. Neale