As a parent I often anticipate that time of the year when my kids come home and say, “Mom, its science fair time!” When my oldest came home screaming that, I thought, “Yeah, no big deal, I remember what to do.” But then I got to thinking, not everyone is a science geek/nerd like myself. I have had a number of friends who have called me in the past and asked my advice. I am going to share with you what I share with them.

Are you listening because I’m going to give you all the secret to a successful science fair project. Shhh…do I have your attention? …

Find a topic that interests your child! 

I’m serious, that is the key. If they are learning about something they love, there is no arguing to get them to do the work. The brilliance is in the simplicity. You don’t even have to go super PhD to come up with a quality project either.

I’ll give you an example. My oldest is fascinated by planes and origami. We sat down one night and tried to figure out how to put these two things together. In the end we came up with testing different paper airplane designs. Once we decided on what to do, the questions for the project just flowed. Which design was more aerodynamic? Which design was easy to make? Did materials effect the planes distance? My son had an absolute ball with his project, and because it was something he liked to do, I had no problems getting him to do his share of the work. His favorite part of it all was flying the planes for his “experiment” portion of the project. He was so happy to place second in his first fair. Now I know not every child can place in a fair, but if they learn something new, then that in itself is the true prize.

I have done alot of research over the years in helping my kids find the things they need to get their projects going. If your a newbie to all this science jazz…no worries, I have a crash course lined up to help you find the project that will fit you to a T.

First and foremost…Choose a science fair project idea…

The following videos may just help you do that, and maybe give you some ideas.

Science Fair Project Ideas : This video is brought to you by another science mom and is great to jump start your scientific mentality.

Science Fair Ideas and Tips : This video is brought to you by Steve Spangler and helps the viewer start thinking on how they can turn their science experiments into science fair projects.

Choosing Your Own Science Adventure : Brought to you by the Archimedes Initiative; a look at why some kids choose the projects they did. Again, a number of students chose things near and dear to them.

Once you have put your cranium into a science fair mindset,  the following links will be able to assist you on your quest for the project that is just right for you. These sites are geared for a wide range of users, from kindergarten all the way into college. If you need start-up gear, just click on ReadingScientist’s aStore on your right to get you going.

 

         http://www.sciencebuddies.org/

 

 

http://www.omsi.edu/for-kids

 

        http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/

 

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/

 

http://www.sciencefair-projects.org/

http://www.education.com/science-fair/

 

Well my fellow scientists…I bid you ado for now and I hope this will help your science fair endeavours.