Written by Article by Kayla Fay
If you’ve attended an elementary school science fair lately, you may leave with one question – are science projects for kids – or for their parents? You know that many of the projects there are way to complicated and advanced for a child to have done them alone. Most of the time, it’s obvious that they’ve had a LOT of assistance from a parent. Science teachers and science fair judges have very high standards for good science fair projects, however, and some parental assistance really is necessary.
It’s not that hard, however, to find good science projects for kids (and not just parents!). The first step is in know what kind of science project is required by your teacher and the science fair. Make sure that the project your child chooses fits into the right category.
Here are the five types of science projects, taken from the free guide at www.onlinescienceprojects.com.
1. Investigative projects – Most science fairs require investigative science projects. These projects have an experiment to tests an hypothesis. The experiment will follow the scientific method, and may require a control group. (If you’re unfamiliar with this vocabulary, check out the free resource below!)
An example of an investigative project would be “How does salt affect the boiling point of water?” This can easily be tested by our experiment which adds different amounts of salt to water and recording the temperature at which it boils.
If you see the words experiment, scientific method, control and/or variable on the project instructions, you’ll probably need an investigative project.
2. Demonstration projects – In these types of projects, a student demonstrates a scientific principle. Many times the teacher wants it presented in front of the class as an oral report. There is no true experiment performed, because there won’t be a control or different variables.
3. Research project – Students research a topic, and write what they discovered. Any type of science topic can be used for a research project. Basically this is simply a science report.
4. Models – In these projects, models are built to explain a scientific principle or structure.
5. Collections – In this type of project a collection of objects is displayed to give an overview of a topic. An example would be a rock collection or a display showing pictures of various animals in a specific family.
Once you find out what kind of science project your child needs, find out what project he or she wants to do. As you search, keep the following questions in mind:
1. Can I find the materials needed for the science experiment?
2. Are the supplies expensive?
3. Can the science project supplies be located in time? If you have to order something, will it arrive in time for you to do the project thoroughly?
4. Is this project within my child’s ability level? Is it safe? Science projects are for kids to do – with your assistance. Not the other way around.
5. Will this project really work?
Face it, a science project is a huge undertaking. We have four sons, and we’ve lost count of how many science projects we have completed. But along the way, we found lots of projects – for our kids – and not for the parents. For a list of these and other projects, visit www.onlinescienceprojects.com.
Kayla Fay and her four boys are the creators of Online Science Project Guides, science projects that are fun, easy, affordable, and teacher pleasing! Find out about these guides, and get a free copy of “The Non-Scientist Parent’s Guide to Science Fair Projects” at www.onlinescienceprojects.com.
Kayla Fay and her four boys are the creators of Online Science Project Guides, science projects that are fun, easy, affordable, and teacher pleasing! Find out about these guides, and get a free copy of “The Non-Scientist Parent’s Guide to Science Fair Projects” at www.onlinescienceprojects.com.
