In honor of our youngest son’s first day of high school chemistry, I present you with really (really) corny chemistry joke that you’ve probably heard before:
Atom 1: “I think I lost an electron.”
Atom 2: “Are you sure?”
Atom 1: “Yeah, I’m positive.”
To be totally honest, I’d never heard it before. And I laughed.
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Check out our science project guides at 24 Hour Science Projects!
Free science projects are all over the internet. A simple search for free projects gives up thousands of results. Unfortunately, in most cases, these ‘free’ projects prove that the old adage “you get what you pay for” is true.
For students headed to the science fair, most free science projects don’t give enough information to get the student started. They give an idea, but no procedure, no directions for an experiment, and no hints on where to find research information. That’s where our project guides come in. They are not free, but the savings in time will make up for the cost.
Our project guides are organized exactly like a science project board. First of all, we help you figure out how to write the purpose and formulate an hypothesis. We give you a list of supplies – and easy places to find them. We have step-by-step instructions that will be your procedure. We tell you exactly what data to gather, and how to do it. We also give you a list of online and offline resources that will make research a breeze.
For most parents, one of the biggest headaches of a project is making charts and graphs. For that, we give you charts that are preformatted and have formulas built in. You plug in your data, and your results are evident. No free science project guide does that!
Our science projects have been performed many times over by teachers and parents. Their experience makes our science project guides easy for your student to do. They’ve been tested to make sure they work, that the instructions are clear and that they’re acceptable (and impressive!) to science teachers and science fairs.
We don’t really advertise it, but support for our guides is free. Once you purchase from us, we’ll be there to help you if you have questions. And you can come back to the projects again and again – even using them for future science fairs.
Check out our science guides at https://www.24hourscienceprojects.com. We know you’ll be glad you didn’t settle for a free science project!
As you begin the process of developing a science fair project, the hardest part may likely be choosing a topic. This is a strange problem since the variety and range of options is infinite, yet it is difficult to imagine the perfect one for you. There are also different types of projects (data or survey research and experimentation for example) that also complicate the matter. Science fair projects are often done out of an educational requirement and designed for learning. However, science fair projects are also practical and enjoyable (if you choose the right topic).
The primary key in determining what topic to work on is observation. Science is all around us even though we pass by it without consideration. We simply need to slow down, stop even, and watch. Look for the unexpected. Look for things that make you ask ‘why did it do that?’ Let me put this another way. Recently, there has been an influx of television shows based on crime scene investigation. What these investigators do, is look at the objects in front of them and then have to figure out what variables causes those objects to end in its present state. They even run multiple experiments with different variable to find the test results that match the crime scene. This analogy is a little backward for our sake since investigators have the result of some undermined set of variables while science fair projects manipulate variables to find the results. However, the experiments done by investigator are very similar to what you might do in a science fair project.
Here are some ideas for coming up with a science fair project topic. As I mentioned above, observe. Break things down, ask ‘why’ or ‘how does that work’. Also, looking for topics related to your personal interests and hobbies will be extremely beneficial. Imagine working with something you already have a passion for. It would give you motivation, even excitement, for your project. It will also allow you to gain more insight and knowledge into your hobby. Other ideas can be found in magazines, encyclopedias, libraries, science textbooks and even talking with older relatives. If you are still in need of a project topic, seek out professionals in your community. They are often excited to share insight into their field of expertise and can make suggestions on the best ideas to start with. You may also gain ideas by checking out local hospitals, universities, government or state departments (like the Department of Agriculture or Department of Transportation), zoos, museums, aquariums, greenhouses, computer centers and water treatment plants. If you choose a topic related to any of these locations, it may work out that you may be able to work with these facilities for the purpose of observation or even basic research.
In determining what topic to explore, be sure to check out the resources listed in this article. Make notes of things that interest you or raise intrigue. Explore ideas that appeal to your passions and interests, so that you may set yourself up to succeed. The important thing is to find something that you will enjoy. Remember to slow down and observe. Everything can be broken down into a science. Good luck in your quest for a great science fair project topic.
Wesley Skiles is creator of ideasforasciencefair.com and has worked in fields related to electricity electronics and hydraulics.
Science Projects were easier in elementary school. Back then, you could submit a model rocket, an egg sucked into a bottle, or a simple science report on electricity. It’s different in middle school. Middle School science teachers want creative ideas, specific elements, in depth research, and detailed logs of the whole science fair process.
Finding a middle school science project that meets all these criteria has always been a challenge for our family. Our teachers wanted an experiment based, investigative project for the science fair. There are five different types of science projects, but most of the books in the library had projects that were actually demonstrations or models. It’s very important that you read the directions from your teacher and/or the science fair, and make sure that the project your child chooses fits into the right category – especially in middle school.
Here are the five types of projects.
1. Investigative projects – Most science fairs require students to submit an investigative science project. This type of project has an experiment that 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. As mentioned before, they’re not easy to find. (Hint: We’ve got a whole pack of investigative projects at 24 Hour Science Projects…)
2. Demonstration projects – In this type of project a student demonstrate a scientific principle, and lots of time 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. (Another hint: We’ve got five demonstration project guides in our “Watch This!” Science Project guides.
3. Research project – Basically this is a science report. Students research a topic, and write what they discovered. Any type of science topic can be used for a research project.
4. Models – For a model project, 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.
Every middle school science fair will have slightly different criteria for projects. As you search for a project, make sure it’s the type of project your school requires. If you need help, check out “The Non-Scientist Parent’s Guide to Science Fair Projects“, which has guides for all the different types of science projects – including the experiment based ones! There is a vocabulary list that gives simple definitions to those vocabulary words you learned in middle school, but promptly forgot.
Believe it or not, science projects are designed to help students learn about science. Figure out which type of project your school requires, and you’ll be one step closer to showing your child how much fun science can be!
Find all sorts of science projects with our excellent guides, including 24 Hour Science Projects, five experiment based projects. We also have five Watch This! demonstration projects, which are designed to be presented in front of a class. Our project guides are perfect for a middle school science project!
When you purchase a set of science project guides from us, we give you a special link that allows you to access your guides from any computer. This link does not expire, so you can come back again and again. In fact, if you want, you can use your guide next year. You can pick a different project, or just do a variation on a project you’ve done before.
Some families purchase our guides, and use the same project for kids in two different grades, just modifying the experiments slightly. Other parents purchase the bonus pack (which has TEN project guides) and never have to worry about finding a science project again.
If you lose your link, don’t worry. All you have to do is email us with a bit of purchase information, and we’ll look up your information, and send it back to you – fast!
These are just some of the many reasons that 24 Hour Science Projects make the very best choice for science projects for your kids!
I occassionally write articles for other places on the internet. Some of them are about science, and some of them are about ADHD. Today, I added a ‘widget’ on the 24 Hour Science Project blog to display some of the writings, the ones from “Ezine Articles“.
It will display at the bottom of that right hand column, updating automatically as I write more stuff! I’m old enough that such technology still fascinates me. AND I’m old enough to still be tickled when I figure out how to get such technology to work…