Science Research

What are appropriate science projects for 4th graders? This is the question that you, the parent, might find yourself asking when your child brings home the annual science fair handout. Obviously, you cannot do the volcano every year. But what should you do instead? What kind of other projects are there? Don’t worry. You do not need to be a scientist to figure this out.

Here is one of many science projects for 4th graders:

Materials (what is needed for the experiment)

Adults might want to help the child handle some of the equipment.

-cup of muddy water
-cotton balls
-scissors
-tape
-plastic drinking straw
-clear vase
-paper towels
-electric drill
-an empty, liter soda bottle (plastic)
- rough gravel
-fine gravel
-large grained sand
-fine grained sand
-camera

Procedure

1. Adults might want to help with this step. Take the electric drill and drill a hole in the cap of the soda bottle. You want the plastic drinking straw to fit snugly into this hole. You can use tape to get the straw to stay.

2. Take the soda bottle and put it upside side down into the vase. (Enter the straw end first.) The straw should reach halfway between the top of the vase and the bottom of the vase.

3. Take scissors and cut the bottle of the soda bottle off. Make sure to get rid of the four protrusions that are commonly found on most soda bottles. With the bottom gone, you can now place things into the bottle.

4. Fill the neck of the soda bottle with cotton balls.

5. Now it is time to put our rocks into the bottle. First put in the coarse gravel. Then put in the fine gravel. Next comes the large grain sand. On top of that is the fine grained sand. And finally, all the way on top, layer some paper towels.

6. Take a picture of the glass of muddy water next to your man made filter. These pictures can be used in the results section.

7. Pour the muddy water into the soda bottle. Watch the water drip from the straw and into the vase. What color is it?

8. Time how long it takes the water to come through. Take pictures showing the results.

9. Using rocks, you have created a filter for muddy water! – And science projects for 4th graders!

By: Alan Wagner