Science Fair Tips & Projects

Whether it’s discovering if slug slime makes a good sealant or what soil is best for growing plants, science projects can teach us how to conduct experiments and discover new information about our world. We learn by conducting our own research. The process of creating a science project requires such specific steps as observation, hypothesis, analysis and conclusion. Find resources that explain the scientific method of performing research and which can help you with your science project from initial idea to final display through these direct links on The Times Launch Point Web site, https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/

Level 1

Science Fair Studio: Find out how you can take an idea and set it up as a science fair project through this site, which not only offers project ideas and resources but also a handbook that guides you. Instruction runs from how to plan and perform research to how to prepare and display your experiment’s results.

https://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/scifairstudio/

Brain Pop: The Scientific Method: Learn how scientists form a hypothesis based on observations, design an experiment to test their prediction and analyze the results to come up with a conclusion through this animated explanation of the scientific method.

https://www.brainpop.com/specials/scientificmethod/

Virtual Science Fair Experiments: How do holograms work? Why is a flashlight white and a laser light red? Find out by visiting this online science fair, which features experiments by students from first through sixth grades.

https://www.parkmaitland.org/sciencefair/index.html

Level 2

The Kids’ Guide to Science Projects: A good experimental question has both an independent variable (an item that is manipulated during the course of an experiment) and a dependent variable (an item that is measured or observed to see if there has been any change). Learn about the steps for designing a sound science experiment, including how to write a conclusion based on the analysis of your data and observations.

https://setmms.tusd.k12.az.us/~jtindell/

FMS 1996 Science Fair: Which beverage stains your teeth the most? How is a magnet used to change hard water to soft? Find out by viewing the top three winners of projects in such categories as life science, earth science, consumer science and physical sciences at Frankfort Middle School’s Virtual Science Fair.

https://www.accs.net/fms/scifair.htm

Exploratorium Learning Studio: Science Fairs: What makes a project a work of science? Find out through this site’s many helpful tips and online materials.

https://www.exploratorium.edu/ls/pathfinders/scifairs/index.html

Level 3

The Ultimate Science Fair Resource Guide: Get helpful advice from a science fair veteran, such as being sure to choose a topic that interests you and keeping your project simple. Access many useful project ideas and resources and share ideas with fellow scientists working on projects.

https://www.scifair.org/

Bunsen Bob’s Science Hunt: Are you interested in knowing how judges think? Do you need some extra help on managing your time? Find answers to your science project questions through this animated Web site.

https://www.sciencehunt.com/HuntHow.nsf/

California State Science Fair: Young scientists from all over California hope to compete in the California State Science Fair finals in May. Find valuable resources that can help you get started on your project and view past winning projects including Webcasts of past award ceremonies.

https://www.usc.edu/CSSF/

EXPLORER’S QUEST

The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.

What do we call the project step that describes what you think will happen in an experiment and why?

CLUE: See Science Project

Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point covers more than 150 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.

Answer to last week’s Quest: Sharks have no bones--their skeleton is made of cartilage, the same substance that forms our nose and ears.

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Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This column was designed by Tham Huynh, Eimi Tomimatsu and Anna Manring.