How to Get Ideas for a Science Fair - Elementary School Version

While I don't have children, I am very creative and have contributed many of my ideas to science fairs all over the piedmont Triad. Here are some creative ideas for Science Fairs for the elementary aged children.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Colorful board
• Paper
• MS Word, Power Point or Publisher
• Journal/Notebook for scientific data
• An idea

1. FOOD RELATED PROJECTS -
   *CHEESE - cheese is always good, because when you get down to the facts it's some pretty interesting stuff, some of it is smelly, you've got some with holes, it gets moldy pretty quickly. Have your student pick out what appeals to them on the issue of cheese and get the facts. Be creative on your board, use yellow paper and cut in shapes of different cheese - put little facts on your slices.
   *EGGS - They are round, raw, come out of a chickens butt. If not cleaned up properly they can make you sick. They need to be packaged properly. Is there a difference in brown or white eggs? Use a yellow board and cut out your white oval eggs.
   *MILK - Udderly amazing all the things you can do with milk. Milk spoils. There is yogurt, sour cream, butter milk, skim milk and why almost everyone loves ice cream.
   *SUGAR - how to spin sugar, make sugar crystal candy.
   *NUTRITION - can eating healthy make you live longer?
   *BANANAS - how long can they last?
   
   Projects with food are always a great ideas because on the day of the Science Fair you can entice people with free samples of your test subjects.
2. THE BODY -
   * TEETH - Your dentist can help you with any topic, tooth decay, pearly whites, how does milk help the teeth grow strong. Is a dogs mouth really cleaner than a persons?
   * BRAIN - Does practice make perfect? Try it and see. Are playing video games really bad for you? Are you faster than a 4th grader - response time depending on age of test subjects.
   *HEART - what makes your heart beat fast?
   *FEVER - when you have a fever, what is happening on the inside of your body?
   *GERMS - ick factor is high
   *KEEPING WARM - how do Eskimos stay warm? can different socks keep you warmer (Wool, Cotton, any other form)? How a hat keeps you warmer in the winter.
   *SMILES - are they contagious?
3. ANIMALS -
   *DOGS - Does your dog have a taste preference?
   *BEES - How do bees keep us fed?
   *ANTS - Will they eat pickles at a picnic?
   *BIRDS - What do they eat?
   *SPIDERS - Are all their webs the same?
4. I've got an idea - now what?
   
   * Your board is key - make it colorful and bright. Whatever subject you use, implement this on your board. For example, if your project is about bananas, cut bananas out of paper and put interesting facts on your board.
   * Take pictures of you with your experiment. If you're following response time on a varied age group, get pictures with your test subjects. If you're trying on different hats to keep warm in the winter, have a picture of you in those different hats, and draw pictures to complement those pictures.
   * Kids, keep your own science journal. You may get your parents to type up your information, but make sure your information, in your handwriting is displayed with your project.
   * Have fun, science fairs are great because it makes learning fun.
5. SCIENCE -
   Don't forget normal science stuff. Physics, Biology.
   
   GOING GREEN -
   Show your class how to be responsible and go green.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure your child does their own research.
• Don't cut corners on your science fair project. There is plenty of time to get a good subject and follow it through.
• While offensive stuff is cool, and often scientific, it may not be allowed in some school fairs.