middle school science projects

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Science Projects for Eighth Graders

One of the best strategies for finding the right science project for your eighth grader would be to consult with their science teacher, especially if the science project was assigned through school. By asking for some ideas from the teacher, you’ll be able to clarify all of the project guidelines and requirements, and be able to find a project that is relevant to your student’s course work. 

Another great place to find good eighth grade science projects would be your local library. At the library you’ll find lots of science project books with helpful project ideas and explanations, all of which are from a reliable source. Additionally, if you need any help finding something suitable for your eighth grader, at a library you can always ask for the help of a librarian to point you in the right direction. 

Finally, the internet is a great way to find eighth grade science projects, but with so much information out there, you have to know where to start. You can do a general search, but it might be wise to be more specific, looking for “8th grade science projects, earth sciences” or “8th grade science projects, physics,” depending on what your student is interested in. You can also find great online guides, often for free, that are loaded with science projects, directions on what materials you’ll need and how to complete them. To get started finding a science project idea, you can try the free project guides at  http://www.middle-school-science-projects.com/guide.pdf. 

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Science Projects for Sixth Graders

Finding the right science project for 6th graders can be a bit difficult. It has to be something they can understand and do mostly for themselves, but also be able to hold their interest, and teach them something. You can help find the perfect 6th grade science project for your student by using some of the resources you have readily at your disposal, including your child’s science teacher, the library, and even resources on the internet. 

Consult with your child’s science teacher when trying to find a good science project idea, especially at the 6th grade level. This way, you’ll be sure to know what the class is currently studying to keep the project relevant but not redundant, and clarify any requirements or deadlines that some 6th graders might not quite know how to manage yet.

Science project books, easily found at the public library, are reliable and easy to use resources for finding and executing a science project. Trying the library is a great way to teach your child to search for books by subject matter, in this case looking for science projects or the subject matter that interests them, and to ask for help from the librarian if you need it. 

Also, the internet is a great place to find huge amounts of 6th grade science project ideas, but you have to know where to look to save yourself time. While you can begin with a general search for science project ideas, it might be a good idea to search more specifically for websites like http://www.akronlibrary.org/DBS/SFDB/Default.aspx that are searchable by subject matter or grade level, so that you aren’t finding projects that are too easy or difficult for your student. Another great tool is the free project guides found at http://www.middle-school-science-projects.com/guide.pdf .

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Middle School Science Projects – They’re Here!

Need middle school science projects? A whole new set of science project has just been developed – with science fair topics that are perfect for middle school! In fact, the projects are called just that: Middle School Science Projects. There are five fabulous topics:
science fair topics for middle school
1. How does hair change as a result of different hair care products?. Girls are especially interested in doing a science project about hair. In this project, we treat hair, then test its strength.

2. How does the type of soil affect water flow? This experiment involves doing a soil analysis – which is fascinating – and then seeing how water flows – or drips – through.

3. What makes yeast grow best? This yeast project finds out what that little fungus likes to eat best. Balloons are involved – and gas.

4. What’s the best model for a solar heater? You can scavenge through the trash to find the elements to build this solar heater that really works!

2. Does the amount of Vitamin C in Orange juice change over time? This is a slightly more advanced version of the popular Vitamin ‘C’itrus’ project.

Check all these projects out today at the Middle School Science Projects site!

Kayla Fay

PS You don’t have to wait for the new package. Get a free science project guide here.

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A Quick, Easy Science Fair Project For Middle School

interesting science fair project

One of the themes we have here is  that great science can be learned by using materials you have at home, and how the quick, easy science fair projects can sometimes teach the best science.  Here is an experiment that involves paper towels.  There are a lot of things you can do, like test which one is more absorbent or which ones are stronger like they show on commercials.  Here is one where you use the paper towels simply as one of the materials in the experiment.

 

Filtering water is a common topic in middle school, as part of an ecology unit, or in the study of pond water, or when straight out studying how water filters work.  Here is an idea for a simple experiment.

 

It  can be a pretty simple experiment,  you want to find out which sort of filtering system can take the most impurities out of rain water or pond water.

 

All you need is some jars and then make cones from a double layer of paper towels.  (may-be you already did a test to see which brand holds up the best) which will act as the filter.  figure out how to fold the paper towels to place them into  the jars and then put common filtering substances like gravel, sand, carbon, newspaper, cotton and even the salt mixture you use in your home system on top of the towel. If you want, you could so some combinations, cotton and carbon, sand and gravel.   Then you just pour the pond water into the jars and the paper towel that has the most stuff on it, filtered the best.

 

This can easily be used as a demonstration project, but it should be after you do your experiment and collect the data, then you can pick a sampling to demonstrate to your class.  The paper towl with the most funk on it, will be easy to show to the classmates.

 

For middle school students, it will require being able to explain what you are doing and why,  you chose those items.  This is good practice for middle school students and one of the reasons why demonstration projects work so well with this age. A quick, easy science fair project is a great way to practice.

 

Want to find a quick, easy science fair project you can use for a demonstration  in front of class?  Visit 24 hour Science Fair Projects

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Simple Grade 8 Science Fair Projects Could End up at Google!

Who Knew?   Google sponsored a world wide science fair, and grade 8 science fair projects qualify!

grade 8 science fair projcetsRecently, Google sponsored their first ever Science Fair and since they are Google, they were able to get plenty of great sponsors like National Geographic,Scientific American, Lego, and CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The age range for this event was 13-18 so there was plenty of room for grade 8 science fair projects as they fall into the age range.
Before you think that regular every day kids could never end up at Google, I want to share with you what the 13-14 year old division winners did for an 8th grade project, as proof that quick and easy science fair projects are just as good as the more complicated ones, and in fact they may even help you learn better science and win some awards to boot.

Here is the scoop about the 13-14 age group:

Lauren Hodge, from the USA, won the 13- and 14-year-old age group with her project about marinating chicken. Really! Her hypothesis was that using lemon juice in the marinade will decrease the amount of carcinogens released when cooking the chicken. See what I mean, a simple concept. It all boils down sometimes to how scientific the experiment was. In fact when you look at the Google  judging criteria, it should look very familiar, as it is based on the steps to the scientific method to a tee.

Here is a brief look at how Google ran their science fair, and really it is a lot like any middle school science fair you are used, to, except bigger rewards, a a lot more people.

They divided the entries into groups, 13-14 year olds, 15-16 year olds and 17-18 year olds, that came from all over the world. There were initially 7,500 projects entered, but not in a live science fair, their project write ups and a video presentation were submitted. Then a panel of teachers went through and rated each project initially on the powerpoint/video presentation, and then as they whittled it down on eight different scientific criteria, which ended up with 60 semi-finalists. The process continued until the top 15 were flown to the Googleplex where they presented their projects to an all-star panel of judges.

For the complete news article on this topic click here. http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-20078967-76/whip-smart-whippersnappers-at-google-science-fair/#ixzz1T7YnER49

Guess what was the make or break piece of the power point/videos?  Which is what they used for the first cut….If the question, hypothesis and conclusion were clearly stated. Understanding and applying the scientific method is the core of all grade 8 science fair projects, and all other grades to boot!

With your local science fairs, that are also split into age levels, and the judges will be looking for the same eight criteria as the Google judges, which is all about how well you represent each step of the scientific method, and your enthusiasm, interest, research and quality of the display. Often the top middle school winners go onto a regional science fair, other places it is just self contained.

Now the 13-14 year olds won $25, 000 scholarship money, which a normal school could never do, and the top prize was $50,000. They also got the chance to do cool things the business partners brought with them, but the point is each one of these winning and often simple science fair projects started off in their own school science fair as won the opportunity to go further to regional fairs. At some point they decided or were encouraged to submit to the Google Science Fair.

So you never know how far your grade 8 science fair projects can take you!

Ready to WIN your next Science Fair? Get award winning grade 8 science fair projects that can be done one weekend! Click here!

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How Do Science Projects Benefit You?

I’m not a very big fan of science and it wasn’t my favorite subject at school; however, if there’s one thing about science that I remember fondly and would still be interested in today, it’s the practical projects we did in middle school. It was a time when I enjoyed science class, simply because most lessons were hands-on in that we were taught how and encouraged to make working models of theories we had listened to the previous class. And so we made working volcanoes that spouted realistic ash in chemistry class; we designed siphons that allowed us to see how water and other liquids could flow in the upwards direction, defying gravity, in physics class; and we grew our own plants and learned about photosynthesis by observing it firsthand in botany.

While some teachers would argue that projects are a waste of time, the majority know that they’re the best way to not just learn about science, but also remember what you’ve learnt throughout your life. Besides this, projects offer the following benefits too:

  • They make science more interesting: There’s no doubt that a class that involves hands-on work is much more interesting and preferable to one that comprises only boring theoretical lectures. Projects generate interest in science by inducing curiosity in students and encouraging them to delve deeper into the many layers of the subject. They pose a challenge that students are driven to achieve, and because of this, they look forward to science classes instead of dreading them.
    • They bring out the engineer in you: The link between science and engineering comes out strong and clear when you get down to creating working models for your project. You combine out your mathematical and engineering knowledge to come with the perfect scale models that not only look authentic but which also work without a hitch. You go back to the drawing board when there are errors or when your results are not accurate and you research other sources so that your project is better than those of your classmates.
    • They tap your creativity: The theory may be the same, but there may be many practical ways to implement it. So even if your whole class is given the same project, your team strives to be the most creative. You don’t have a whole lot of room to maneuver and the competition is tough; this is a situation that gets your juices flowing and encourages you to come out with a stunning design and implementation of the theory.
    • They help you understand science better: It’s easy to see that science becomes simpler to understand and learn when working models demonstrate the theoretical equations and principles you read from your textbook. You look at the subject as a means of explaining our world and how things work rather than as just text that must be memorized in order to secure a passing grade in your exams.
    • They encourage teamwork: And finally, projects foster teamwork and encourage bonding with the others in your team. This helps you prepare for real-life situations in work environments where you will most likely be part of a team and must know how to interact with the others smoothly and in good cheer.

Science projects must be encouraged not just by teachers, but by school administrations as well in order to boost interest in the subject and encourage more students to base a career on it.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Beatrice Owen, she writes on the topic of bachelors of science . She welcomes your comments at her email id: owen1.beatrice(@)gmail(.)com.