Archives for February 2018

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Human Behavior Science Projects – For Humans Who Sometimes Behave

Are two ears better than one?
Are two ears better than one?

Human Behavior Science Projects explore the fascinating ways that human beings behave. Behavioral projects are a popular choice for kids headed to the science fair. While gathering enough test subjects can be tricky, these projects can be a great way for students to learn about testing, meet interesting people, and have fun. There are so many things to discover, that the hardest part may be simply choosing a topic. Here’s a list of ideas to get you started.

1. Determine the soothing effect of music by taking the pulse before and after a five minute session of classical piano.

2. See if more people are visual learners or auditory learners by having humans memorize a telephone number that they only see, then a different one that they only hear.

3. Discover if wearing glasses helps or hurts a salesperson’s profit. Have a salesperson wear glasses for a series of days, then go to work without the glasses. Compare their total sales for the two periods.

4. Find out if yawning is contagious behavior by watching a group of children before and after the group leader yawns. Note that because it is such a primitive reflex, yawning is a very popular human behavior science project subject.

5. Are younger children more inclined to like their teachers than older students? Rate the popularity of teachers that teach different ages of kids.

6. Measure the time it takes for children to learn a poem set to music or not set to music.

7. Find out if the scent of lemon helps attention by calculating test scores of people who have or have not sniffed a lemon. This is a great science project that might help ADHD students!

8. Find out if two ears or one are better at localizing a sound by hiding an object, and timing how long individuals take to find it. (Get a complete project guide for this project at Online Science Projects.)

Of course, you don’t need a study of human behavior to know that students like to come up with new and unique ideas. So put on your thinking cap and come up with your own human behavior science project!

Need more ideas?! Get your FREE parents guide to science projects at http://www.24hourscienceprojects.com. We also have a list of many types of science experiments and projects.

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Science Project Statistics – How to Find the Average

Science project question: “I’m a mother of a 4th grader who is currently working on his science project. We did the project and it was interesting what the results were. The only thing I can’t figure out how can we figure the average numbers at the end of the trials? How do you figure out the average?”

This was an easy question for me to answer. Since this mom was one of our customers, I just referred her to the spreadsheet included with her project. All she had to do was put in the numbers, and the chart (like the one in the picture) was generated automatically. We have formulas in the spreadsheet that do all the calculations.

That’s what 24 Hour Science Projects is all about!

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Supplies for Other Projects – and Homework, Too!

It’s not just science projects. In general, school, homework and learning can be a real struggle for many children – I know this firsthand from watching my boys. Early on, I decided that my guys should never have to look far for the proper tools. Like a busy executive, they needed to concentrate on the task before them, and should have anything they need close at hand. There is a closet in our house that looks like the school supply section at Wal-Mart. The boys have tools to stay organized. They have plenty of socks, underwear, and soccer clothes. We have calculators, computers, dictionaries, encyclopedia, rulers, compasses, and yes, we keep spare science boards. (We even keep completed projects, as you may have read in the post about doing science projects with more than one kid.

To prepare for this article, I walked through my house and made a list of the supplies we keep on hand. This list can be a springboard for getting supplies ready for your children. Let this list help you as you help your children to help themselves.

Lots of pencils
Erasers
Pens
Markers – wide tip & fine point
Permanent markers
Highlighters in several colors
Zip lock bags – all sizes
Protractors
Compass
Rulers
Glue and glue sticks
Spray adhesive
Scotch tape – wide and thin
Duct tape and packing tape
Sticky tack
Thumb tacks
Paper clips
Paper fasteners
Index cards
LOTS of Notebook paper, wide and college rule
Notebooks – 1 & 3 subject in both rules-
with the THICK cardboard covers
Graph paper
Graph paper NOTEBOOKS (invaluable for math)
Card stock in white and colors
Colored computer paper
Construction paper
Science boards

White drawing paper
Folders – pocket and prong
Manilla file folders
Envelopes – including large yellow ones
Full sheets of sticker paper
Labels
Newsprint, bought for $1 at the newspaper office
Pencil cases
Bookbags (one of the boys broke his yesterday
and I was grateful we had a spare)
Notebook dividers
Looseleaf binders in several sizes
Sheet protectors
Baby food jars
Old magazines – including National Geographic, Science Journal
given away free by our local library
Tempera paint
Globe
Wall Map
Atlas
Old set of encyclopedias and science journals
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Electronic Dictionary – for the short definitions
and the easy look up
Calculators, some cheap, some not
Extra Ink Cartridges
Memory sticks/thumb drives

I’m quite aware that this is a LOT of stuff. But you’re going to buy it anyway. Cut down on the stress and buy it in advance. Science project time will be here before you know it!

And while you’re getting supplies, add our free science project guide at http://www.www.middle-school-science-projects.com.

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When a Science Project Proposal is Rejected

Recently, a student contacted me about a science project he was doing. The question (from one of our projects) was, “Does Covering the Mouth with Hands Prevent the Spread of Germs?”

This project was designed for elementary school students, and the teacher wasn’t pleased with its simplicity. Her main objection was that the experiment question shouldn’t be answerable with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

The clever seventh grade scientist had an easy solution. He reworded his question, “How does covering the mouth prevent the spread of germs?” He did lots of research, conducted the experiment we provided, and was able to turn in a great project.

Sometimes you come up with a great science project topic, but the teacher rejects your idea. If you can ask the teacher for a specific reason for the rejection, you may find that a simple rewording of the question may re-qualify your idea!

The project mentioned above is called “Undercover Sneeze”. It can be found, along with many more projects, at http://www.onlinescienceprojects.com.

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Experiment with Vitamin C

When you mix ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and iodine, something cool happens: the solution turns blue for a second or two, then returns to the color of the juice. If you keep adding the iodine, the mixture will turn a very inky dark blue color. Why is this? Here’s a kid friendly explanation.

Iodine and vitamin C like each other, and when they are put in the same container, they will combine. When you are adding the iodine to the juice and the starch mixture, as long as there is still vitamin C that has not been combined with the iodine, the color will stay the color of the juice, but after you reach the equivalence point- when you have added as much iodine as there is vitamin C – then the iodine starts combining with the cornstarch. When iodine combines with cornstarch it turns blue.

And if you’re doing our award winning experiment Vitamin “C”itrus, here’s a hint: the more iodine it takes, the more vitamin C there is.

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1st Grade Science Projects

1st Grade science projects can be the seeds for even greater science projects for 4th graders

1st grade science projectsI’ve been thinking a lot about 1st grade science projects and what can be done at that level to make things easier for science projects for 4th graders,  when kids are sent off to do a project on their own.

So I started keeping an eye out for tidbits on the subject…

I ran across an interesting article that caught my attention since the title was  “A Science Fair Makeover in Your School Library!”  Well you can imagine the pictures that went through my head of a library with exploding volcanoes, or mice in mazes or a worm farm so I couldn’t help but wondering what this librarian was thinking!

Once I got into the article, I realized they were emphasizing the importance of the librarian in any school level science fair project that follows the accepted educational standards for both library science and science teachers.

What section in any elementary school library is where your 1st graders gravitate to? It is the science section! They love books on bugs, animals, outer space, rockets, sea creatures, weather and all of that.

  • When it comes to supporting your data with research, where is the most logical place for kids to go? The library of course.
  • One of the largest collections a libraries science section is science fair ideas.
  • Now beyond all of that, the library is also one of the largest rooms in a school. It also has build in counter tops and table that are perfect for  display boards and you don’t have to fight with the Phys Ed teacher about taking up their gym.
  • Read the full article that goes into great detail on how to partner with the librarian for the science fair here.

So the article got me thinking more about First Grade.

Mostly a 1st grade science project is based on a theme, and you also want them to learn early on how research is a key element. The librarian as a partner from beginning to end, will help with surveying the literature, they can help focus their attention to one area, they can even teach kids how to take an idea an turn it into a good science question. Then there they would be again, to either help the child look for an appropriate project, or work with the teacher to find a list of books or online project in their theme and is designed for a 1st grader to do. They would work ahead of time to create a display of research support books, as well asd websites the kids can use for their facts.

I somehow think  1st grade science projects that followed some great  ideas for making a project look good from their school  librarian could be really cool! Not to mention how excited 1st graders can be about showing off anything they do!

Get your free copy of “The Non-Scientist Parents’ Guide to a Science Project” that goes into great detail on how to make a great display board. You can download right now through this link.

…and those 4th graders?

It looks like you really can build some good habits, and have some fun along the ways so science projects for 4th graders might go more smoothly and independently, not to mention the friendly librarian there to help them along the way. You will get some really great display boards by then!

Get your 1st grade science project ideas, or science projects for 4th graders or kids of any age  today at 24 Hour Science Project!