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How to Choose the Right Type of Science Fair Project

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Friday, May 14th, 2010

Science fair projects can be the most memorable part of your science class, giving you an opportunity to show your abilities and creativity. Many students find that getting started is one of the hardest parts of the project. In any case, your first step should be to understand the three main kinds of science fair project. It’s very important to choose the right type of project, or all of your effort could be wasted.

There are three different methods you can use for your science fair project: building (or modeling), demonstrating or investigating. When choosing, there are two considerations. Before you do anything else, find out from the teacher what type of project the science fair rules require. If you are able to pick a type of project, go with the one you are most comfortable with.

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. Some students do create unusual or dramatic models, which can be used demonstrate new ideas.

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. Alternatively, you might produce a poster or visual display about a topic on which you have carried out extensive research -climate change is understandably very popular at the present time. When you do this kind of project, you are not doing anything new, but only explaining or illustrating 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 want to go on to state or national science fairs, or are interested in a career in science, then this is an area to look into. And the choice of science fair project topics is limitless. Biology, chemistry and physics projects are common, but if your interest lies elsewhere, consider geology, environment, meteorology, or even sports science. Develop a hypothesis around your interest, and then find a 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.

And finally, you should remember to talk to your teacher. Make sure you understand the rules and guidelines completely, to assure your success. Then, no matter which kinds of science projects you choose to do, you can enjoy the experience, confident that you have chosen well!


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This entry was posted on Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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