Find Engineering School

Science fair projects can be the most memorable part of your science class, giving you an opportunity to show your abilities and creativity. Sometimes, it is hard just to get started on your science fair project. Before you can plan your project, and even before you pick a topic, you must first understand the different types of science fair projects. It’s very important to choose the right type of project, or all of your effort could be wasted.

There are three basic types of science fair projects: models, demonstrations, or investigations. When choosing, there are two considerations. First, it’s important to check with your teacher to find out what type of project is required. Second, if you get to choose which type of project to do, pick the kind you find most interesting.

The Model Building Method

The model building method is the kind of project which, as the name implies, enables you to construct a model, to scale whenever possible, to illustrate a specific scientific principle. This could be as simple as a model of the solar system, or a real working machine. Many of us have seen the model of an erupting volcano in which the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar causes realistic looking ‘lava’ flows down the sides of a ‘mountain’. These models can be fun to build and quite spectacular – but they are often more suited to elementary school science fairs because of the relative lack of real ’science’ or creativity in most of them. Having said that, though, there can be some spectacular models produced by higher grade level students; especially if the model is actually demonstrating something new.

The Demonstration

The demonstration or descriptive method of research is again fairly self-explanatory. You could display your collection of rocks or other items related to a particular topic (like geology), and describe how they are related in your report, speech or on a display board. As an alternative, you could use a visual project display board to describe the research you performed. These kinds of projects are simply an illustration or explanation of known scientific principles.

The Scientific Experiment (Investigation)

It is with the third of the possible methods that you can provide what most science fairs for older students are looking for – proper scientific experiments using scientific methods to construct and test a hypothesis and draw conclusions from it. If you have ambitions in science, or want to progress to regional or even national science fairs, then this is the area that you really should be looking into. And the choice of science fair project topics is limitless. Decide where your major interest lies – it might be biology, chemistry or physics but it could also be earth science, environmental science, sports science, meteorology or computer science – and then try to develop your own hypothesis and method of testing it. If you have trouble thinking of an interesting topic, books and web sites can offer helpful ideas. Just make sure it is unique is some way if you want a chance of winning.

Finally, to assure your success, always remain in contact with your teacher about what you are doing, and confirm that you fully understand the science fair rules and guidelines. Then, whichever type of project you decide to undertake, you can enjoy it with confidence!

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: science fair project, science fair projects, science project, science projects