Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Science Fair Project Season

We are nearing the end of 2017, which means we've now entered the start of science fair season in many areas.  My daughter's science fair is typically in late January or early February so she's started thinking about what to do.  This will be her third year doing a science fair project.  The first year she tested plant growth from different liquids.  Last year she swabbed various objects in the house and tested for bacterial growth.  This was a very interesting project, allowing her to see which swabbed objects resulted in greater bacteria growth. 

She hasn't quite decided what to do this year, but she's gathering ideas from various websites, including this one: 

Middle School Science Fair Project Ideas

As my daughter grows older, science fair projects move from simpler science demos to actual experiments.  The goal of a science fair project is to setup an experiment to acquire data.  Science demos are cool, but not the goal of a science fair project.  Students are expected to design an experiment, collect data, and then analyze that data to arrive at a conclusion.  Analyzing the data is probably the tougher part of a project for kids at this age.  But science fairs are a fantastic opportunity for kids to get involved in the scienctific process!!! 

If you're a parent and your kid brings home science fair information, please consider participating.  Even if you don't know what you're doing, science fairs are a great way to get involved in science!  Some of the best science is done when you don't know what you're doing at the start.  That's when the investigation begins and the learning proceeds!

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