Everyone who has ever been to a science fair has seen the boring old science project such as the sanderupting volcano or the paper space project. These types of displays are very simple and easy from the parent’s point of view, but these displays are very unwise choices for the students who must participate. Why is that?
These basic experiments are the type of experiments that are so ubiquitous that even the children understand what is going to occur. When that happens, then the children are probably not learning much, if anything. Judges have gotten bored with these styles of experiments, and that’s a major problem for kids who endeavor to win awards in their science fair competition. When it’s all said and done, this type of project is only really good for the parents who are buying the materials, and surprisingly these kinds of projects are not even cheap.
It is your role to find is a creative and original science fair project, or at least a project that is more educational than those repetitive experiments. Not only will this aid your child achieve more, it can provide the child an increased opportunity of becoming the winner of the the exhibition. Often, these competitions will include a scholarship or a nice cash prize{{{, and even those that do not provide one can certainly lead to a science scholarship later on down the line. Those which do nothave a scholarship attached can occasionally lead to a science scholarship later on down the line. This can be a nice added opportunity, and in addition to the high grades, the knowledge, and the experience your student is receiving with their entry, it provides you a wonderful reason to do something special.
What type of unique science projects are available? The world wide web appears to be a very good primary alternative, but because of the ease of use, one can all but guarantee that large science exhibitions include a similar project, especially if you took your exhibit from a popular science project website. Even when only participating in a small science fair, or an in-class science fair, you have to presume that there are a few other parents who are using the same websites that you have, including the judges and the teachers who are grading your children. These duplicate projects mean problems for the teachers, as this approach to the science fair buries the true benefit to the science fair exhibitions: having an exploratory experience. The people who run these exhibitions are hoping for you to come up with something original, on your own. In addition, you have to think about the of experience the student is going through. A competition is their chance to display their own interests, and selecting an easy or inexpensiveproject off of an internet site is not helping them learn.
You can check out the library for books, or looking at downloadable ebooks as well. These sources are in general the better places for pre-made ideas because there is a greater variety of choices, and a smaller number of competitors will be able to find each source, giving you a better shot at uniqueness.
Have the student create their own experiment, or if this does not go over well, then have the child add their ideas into some aspect of some other science fair experiment they have discovered. You can borrow a little bit of ideas from the websites, especially from the “members only” websites that have really good experiments, and books or suggestions with more unique ideas, but make sure to supplement them with an idea of your own!
If your kid needs help with their science project ideas and you are lacking in computer and spreadsheet knowledge, do not be afraid to look an expert for help. A majority of those members-only internet sites will give helpful downloads such as ready-made charts and spreadsheets for your child’s use. You ought to obtain help from an online tutor, who are almost always biology students in university who are able to assist you out with a little easy advice.
By: Jordan Matthews
Posts Tagged ‘Science Projects’
Original Science Projects
January 29th, 2010Fun Science Projects for the Science Fair
January 25th, 2010Science is a fascinating subject, which the kids can love only if it is presented in an interesting way. Moreover, science is a subject, which should not just be taught from the textbook but also supplemented with practical sessions to demonstrate scientific principles. As students most of the kids who dislike science lessons are drawn to it owing to the practical sessions during which it is possible for the children to see the results of scientific experiments on their own.
In case you want your child to explore the field of science on their own, then here are some simple science experiments that you can encourage your child to perform. There are also various scientific experiment kits or sets, which provide the basic chemicals, apparatus and other requirements for the children to perform the experiments. In case you don’t want to buy these science kits, there still exist a lot of experiments, which can be carried out at home using simple things easily available at home.
Fun Science Experiments
Here I have compiled some easy and fun science experiments, which can be easily demonstrated to and even performed by the kids. Most of these experiments can be performed at home with little supervision and help from the parents. Go ahead and pick an experiment, which would not only be a fun experience for the child but also a great way to learn basic scientific principles.
Easy Science Experiment 1# Development of a Seed
Requirements: Seeds of any plant, a gardening pot, fertile and moist gardening soil and water.
Procedure: One of the most basic and easy experiments for children is growing a plant from seeds. All you need to do is take a small cup or a pot of convenient size and material. Add some moist fertile soil from the garden into the pot. Place some seeds into the pot and ask the child to water it regularly. Place the cup or the pot in sunlight so that the seeds get enough exposure to the sunlight.
Things to Learn: The children will enjoy the offshoots and development of roots from the seed and it will also be a great learning experience for the child. Teach the child how water, soil, sunlight, and seeds are necessary for the creation and growth of a plant. You can extend the teaching session by introducing the children to the various parts of the plant – starting from the root, stem, leaves, and even flower and fruits.
Easy Science Experiment 2# Static Electricity
Requirements: a hard plastic comb, or a balloon, thread, pieces of dry cereal.
Procedure: Just tie a piece of the cereal to one end of a piece of thread. Find a place to attach the other end of the thread. Just tape the thread to the edge of a desk. Make sure that the comb is really clean and free from any dirt and oil. Now just rub the comb through long dry hair or a woolen blanket so that it gets charged with static electricity owing to the friction. Now slowly bring the comb near the cereal. The cereal piece tied to the thread will swing to touch the comb. Hold it until the cereal moves away by itself. The cereal will tend to move away from the comb now.
Things to Learn: The thing to be learnt by the children is that combing the hair caused the electrons to be transferred from the hair to the comb. Since the comb was negatively charged with static electricity, the neutral cereal was attracted to it. When the cereal touched the comb, electrons were transferred to the cereal resulting in transfer of negative charge. Thus since both the comb and the cereal were negatively charged after a while, it led to repulsion.
Visit http://www.project-science-fair.com/ for more details.
By: diane
Science Education: Making Science Fun
January 23rd, 2010Every school in America is required to teach science. This is because science and scientific learning is a fundamental part of our existence. Most everything that we encounter on a day-to-day basis is, in some way, related to science. Even when we are sleeping, science is there to explain why we need to sleep and what takes place while we are sleeping. Because of this, science education is essential to life as we know it. Of course there will be many people who are happy to go through life without knowing how a bird can fly. Even given this fact, there will always be something that they will need to know and understand that is grounded in science. Even if it is something as simple as ‘fire is hot’ or ‘getting punched hurts. Science is there to explain these simple things too.
A good foundation in science through science education is required for all children, but the way that this education takes place is not strictly defined. With that said, many schools will take to science experiments using hands-on science products and supplies. This is an excellent way for students to ’see’ the science around them. Often times learning from a book can be tedious and will cause students to become uninterested in the subject matter. A science experiment, however, is interactive and forces the students to take part in science learning. These projects don’t have to be complicated and will usually result in a much higher level of learning retention.
There are a few reasons why children better retain knowledge gained through scientific experimentation. One is it allows you to appeal to those children who are visual learners. These students are the ones who need pictures or demonstrations to remember things. Words just don’t stick in their minds as well, but when they can see a science demonstration or visualize an experiment, they can comprehend and retain the subject matter with much better success. Many students tend to thrive in science because it offers the visual aspect that many other subject matters do not.
Another reason that knowledge gained through science experimentation is retained longer by students is because they are actively engaged. They can’t simply skim through the experiment, they have to make sure that they are doing things correctly, and the only way to ensure that is by understanding what is going on. It forces students to understand the science behind what they are doing, and if they don’t, often times the experiment won’t turn out right.
Finally, hands-on science experimentation gives the student a sense of accomplishment. It is a reward of sorts, to have the experiment turn out correctly. That reassurance and sense of achievement at the end of each experiment will cause them to want to do more. It will also give them more confidence in what they are doing and possibly cause them to take up more science projects on their own. They will already be comfortable with the process they need to follow and will merely need their own ideas and theories to start their own projects. Even their own small science projects will increase their knowledge of how the world around them works and functions.
By: Christopher Cameron
