For many, the science fair project is a requirement but for some, it’s something you REALLY want to try. Whether you’re totally pumped for the science fair or purposely ignoring it, coming up with an idea for a science fair project can be the toughest part (we’ve been there!). Check out our tips and strategies we’ve used to create science fair project ideas over the years.
Write down all your “why does…” and “I wonder if…” questions for a week
If you really want to come up with something original…try this approach.
Start by keeping track of questions that you have about the world around you. Walk around with a little notepad or your iPod/tablet. Every time you catch yourself wondering or asking a question write it down. If you hear interesting questions posed by other people, this is fair game too. The more ideas, the better!!
Next, at the end of the week, review the list you created and brainstorm about some possible experiments you could do to answer these questions. Finally, for observations or things that you noticed throughout the week, try to think about questions that would be interesting to address.
If you’re still having trouble coming up with an idea, try using Google. Take your topics/questions/observations lost that you created during the week, and search each topic in Google. Add the term “science project” to your query. Let’s look at an example.
My kids love hot chocolate in the winter… but not too hot. It’s always tricky to get it just right. Now, that could be an observation on my list. But what if I’m not sure how to turn that into a project? I can search for “hot chocolate science project” and I get a ton of hits including this project.
Go Head-to-Head! Setup a “best of the best” contest
No need to put the gloves on and fight it out in the backyard just yet. But, we do think a lot of great science projects compare or test products in a “controlled” manner. Think about things you use every day where this might apply. Popcorn and toothpaste are two areas people often test out in the science fair — something along the lines of Which popcorn pops best? or Which toothpaste whitens teeth fastest?
These types of projects allow you to create a testable hypothesis and a final answer. Most important: you don’t have to test something like toothpaste or popcorn. Find something you really love. Are there other foods you are interested in? One other variation of this approach could also be changing VARIABLES to make something better! In our popcorn example:
- Does cooking a certain brand of microwave popcorn differently mean more of the kernels pop?
- Will hot popcorn or cold popcorn pop better?
- How about wet popcorn or dry popcorn — which do you think would pop better?
Why we like this approach so much? Great overall exposure to the scientific method, and if it covers a topic you are genuinely interested in or like, you’re more likely to finish it and have fun!
Get inspired by other people’s success
Annual science fairs — big and small — can provide inspiration and serve as a good jumping off point. Check out projects from past local fairs, or from these national/international competitions, and think about what you would do different. Are there questions you think could be addressed? Are there different things in the experiment you would have tested? A few links below should point you towards larger fairs and competitions:
Keep in mind these are pretty elite events. If this is your first science fair, many of these projects are likely to be more advanced than you’re ready to try. Don’t worry! Even if that’s the case, a quick read through these lists gives you a great idea where you can aim towards reaching in a few years!
Science fair project generators
Many sites hold project collections categorized by both grade and category (and often difficulty). This route might be a better first step, if you’re looking for something that’s well detailed or a project that’s likely not to have snafus. Some sites we would recommend include the following:
- Education.com’s science fair projects
- ScienceBuddies’ Topic Selection Wizard
- Cool-science-projects.com (a bit on the older side, but still has a long list of available projects)
If all else fails, Google it?
Google created a science fair project idea engine that uses a few search terms to come up with websites, patents, news stories, etc. to help inspire you to find a new project (screen shot below). In theory, it’s a cool idea. Create a project aimed at solving global issues like climate change, by blending together things you love and things you are good at doing. Win win!
In reality… this leaves a little to be desired. There are a ton of results that come back…so, what’s the issue? An overwhelming result list. Literally 100s of hits come back and when we ran through it the kiddos really struggled to make sense of it all. You can still apply the concepts and do this the old school way with paper/pen, and maybe borrow the fields you’d like to make better from Google.
STEMomma is a mother & former scientist/educator. She loves to find creative, fun ways to help engage kids in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). When she’s not busy in meetings or carpooling kids, she loves spending time with the family and dreaming up new experiments or games they can try in the backyard.
