Science Fair 2018 Results

My 10 year old recently participated in her school's science fair, her third consecutive year participating.  She decided to test glucose levels in various food and drinks as an application to determine which foods/drinks to avoid if you have high blood sugar.

Testing Glucose Levels in Food

Sugar level results

She had a lot of fun with this project, and her hard work paid off.  She earned first place in the 5th grade division and advanced onward to the regional science fair in a couple of weeks!  Looking ahead she needs to put together a report that includes more details on her procedures, controls, errors, etc.  She's looking forward to the regional fair and can't wait to see the other projects there!

Science fairs are a great way to get kids involved in real science.  Unfortunately the number of kids participating in science fairs is often very low.  I counted 24 projects out of about 600 kids in 3rd/4th/5th grade at my daughter's school.  That's a participation rate of 4%.  Yikes!  The school did a good job advertising the fair and providing a wealth of information and tools on how to get started with a project.  The teachers sponsoring the project even offered to review project ideas and help kids select a quality project.  Yet 4% was the turnout.  On top of that, most of those were in the 3rd grade.  At the 5th grade there were only 5 students participating.  That's a 2.5% turnout!  Double yikes!

Science fair projects at the elementary level do not have to be elaborate projects.  They are designed for kids to get their hands wet with science.  It's all about the investigative process.  So parents, it's time to step up and provide the encouragement your child needs to get started!  You can do this!