Help! Science Fair Project Ideas

[d_m_n_n]

I just found out tonight DS11's school is having their first ever Science Fair type event in their classrooms. While I think this is pretty exciting, I've NEVER been to a science fair to know what they do! Does anyone have any ideas for projects. Oh, and the kicker...it's due in 10 days! :eek: HELP!!!!

[crazeedizneefinatic]

OMG, 10 days, doesn't give you much time. My son is having a science fair also but sometime in April. His teacher is sending a list with ideas of experiments and such, I believe next week, might be too late to pass along but I thought your local Target is a good place. They have kits in the "creative" isle just spruce it up and there you go. I believe I even saw the famous volcano kit. Good luck!

[BigRedDad]

Have they done anything on crystals? If so, you can do many neat things with crystals and water.

Are they looking at any eco-friendly ideas? You can create a solar powered water heater. Careful on this because water can get extremely hot.

Design an eco-friendly house where little or no power is required.

[Tink2002]

Is it experiment-based or invention-based?

Back in middle school I remember doing experiments to see how much dust different commercial cloths would pick up (with v. sensitive scale weighed cloth, then weighed after pulling across measured amount of baby powder), which brand of popcorn popped the best, and I also made a little thing with two rollers on the handle of an old spoon that squeezed out the toothpaste tube... hahaa

I would honestly google it and you will get TONS of ideas, that's how I always found mine.

[Sunshine1010]

I have participated in lots of science fairs...but out of ALL of them, ONE exhibit has stood out in my mind after 30 years!

Someone wanted to do a test on smell/taste. We would have to sit down at their booth. We were blindfolded, and we would have to plug our noses. They would feed us something from a spoon. And we had to try and guess what it was. (mayo, mustard, lemon juice, etc.). NO ONE could guess what they ate without smelling it.

it was the coolest thing! People lined up to do it.

[princessimagineer]

fun things with magnets. borax makes crystals in custom shapes.

junior year in chem i did a project where i made spaghetti "dance." its some project where like we put small breaks of spaghetti into a concoction of like vinegar, baking soda and something else and the reaction of the bubbles pushed the pieces of spaghetti around and made them like spin and stuff. i thought it was cool. we did well on it cuz we brought in lasagna for the class to enjoy (and to butter up my teacher)

look it up =]

[Diznee4Me]

I once made a barometer. It was a coffe can with plastic wrap stretched tight on top. A straw was taped - gently - to the plastic wrap. There was a piece of construction paper taped vertically to the can with a line drawn at the top of the can. When the pressure dropped or spiked the straw would move - slightly - either above or below the line. Watching the news at night for pressure was used to prove or disprove the can barometer's predictions.

You can probaly look up making a barometer for better details but I won third place! :D

[d_m_n_n]

Thanks to everyone so much for your ideas! I'm going to let DS look through them and see what he decides. These sound so cool...we might have a Science Spring Break since we are probably staying home this year! :)

[Marci]

How about the carnation dying experiment. You buy white carnations, put one in regular water, and the other 2 in dyed water. The dyed water turns them color. Embellish a little on the details to make it sciency. Very easy to do in 10 days.

[DreaminofDisney24]

I have tons and tons of stuff but that's because I work at a Science Museum, and I am constantly writing workshops with great sciencey things to do:) If your son has a specific theme he would like, I'm sure I could help you out...I've done everything making icecream and rollercoasters, to building parachutes and hot air balloons..strawberry DNA extraction...balloon race cars...film canister rockets...CSI stuff...hand made bubble machine-all are very very easy to do and experiment with! I have handouts with directions for tons of things....We tend to stay away from most food things, only because schools have strict guidelines do to allergies and such....Good luck!

[DixieBelle]

DreaminofDisney24 has some great ideas!:thumbsup:
I just wanted to add, that when you do your experiment not to forget your control group.
DS has been to the regional science fair several years and the teachers always comment about how thorough his experiments are, and that they were impressed that he used a control group. Good Luck with what ever you decide to do!...:pixie:

[princessjojo]

Saw something the other day on Rachael Ray that would make a great Science Fair Exhibit. How acids and bases react to counter each other. They took a dark colored t-shirt, sprayed bleach on it watched it begin to fade, then sprayed vinegar on it and watched it stop fading. The acid (vinegar) began to neutralize the base (bleach) stopping it's effects. Pretty cool...

[Advnt05]

I like the germ theory. Everyone wears gloves. One person has an invisible substance on their gloves. You walk around shaking hands and in the end, you hold it up to a black light and you can see how many people came in contact with "germ man". Can't remember what the invisible chemical was.

[DisneyDog]

Go to the public library and look in the Dewey section 507.8. They will have books on science fair projects:thumbsup:

[EpcotFan182]

I did a cool experiment back in middle school...

I grinded three different cereals into powders and tested their iron content by placing a magnet in them. I used cerals with varying degrees of iron in them - I think I used Apple Cinnamon Cheerios (lowest), Shredded Wheat, and Total (highest). It actually worked - the grinded up Total stuck to the magnet the most!

Have fun with whatever project you do!