Loooking for ideas for a 4th grade science fair project.

A glow in the dark, planetarium better than what you can buy in the store.

Varying in size foam balls from your local hobby store

Glow in the dark paints

Fishing line

Measuring tape

You could do this for under $50 and make it huge and very alive.

The Science Buddies web site will have everything you need.

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/recommender_register.php

Pete Underwood wrote:

My son has science fair project coming up and want him to do really well. The only thing is that the best projects will be done by parents and I am not too good in science. So I coming here for suggestions. Would appreciate any ideas or advice. Thanks.

As a scientist who has been a judge for local science fairs for many years, I would strongly encourage you NOT to get a kit or book or use a science fair website to get ideas. There has been a trend recently toward less science in kids projects and more glamor and razzle-dazzle. A cool display is NOT necessarily a good science fair project. No offense to Pete Underwood, but I would give a glow in the dark planetarium a poor score if I were judging it. A science fair project should be real science, not just a model of something.

Start with a question that your child has. "Which laundry soap gets clothes cleaner?", "Which hand lotion protects hands best?", "Do bees like blue or yellow flowers better?", "What kind of seed do birds prefer?". Then collect data around your house. A good question should be testable and most kids really enjoy doing trials to collect this kind of data. Then, analyze the data to see if you can draw conclusions from it. Then put all that together into a display. A good graph and data table with numbers from you trials is essential to a good score. This shows that true inquiry took place. Science fair is supposed to teach kids how science inquiry works, not whose parents can spend the most money on a good looking non-science display.

I can tell you that kids who true inquiry based projects get better scores from good judges than the kids who has daddy by a cool kit for them. Obviously, some fairs have community members who know nothing about science judging and may give the razzle-dazzle volcano display high marks, but any judge worth their salt will see right through those kinds of presentations.

Start with a good question.

Tim Bits wrote:

No offense to Pete Underwood, but I would give a glow in the dark planetarium a poor score if I were judging it.

Solar, not Pete...sorry.

If you're not good at Science have him do a Flat Earth project. No Science needed for that.

I would do "Is the Earth a spheroid?" And just get a bunch of bollshit data from NASA and put it on display. Throw the word "light years in there and have balls orbiting each other. The judges will be like "Yeah, whatever NASA says", and you will win.

Tim Bits wrote:

I can tell you that kids who true inquiry based projects get better scores from good judges than the kids who has daddy by a cool kit for them.

Start with a good question.

Build a still and make some alcohol. Make sure you have some rain water to sample the finished product with.

Experiment with different charcoal on the way to making some whiskey.

Make sure they try it. That will loosen the judges up..

Otherwise a very insightful post.

I think a demonstration on eclipses would be cool, using flash lights, different sized balls hanging from strings or on some kind of track, and a cardboard tunnel to keep out the ambient light. Be sure to answer why eclipses are important (are they?).

Also, for humorous effect demonstrate the kind of eclipse that occurs if the sun passes between the earth and the moon.

Creation of lint free toilet paper

This is pretty solid advice.

You'll need a hypothesis - keep question simple and clear

Project synopsis - short summary of project and findings

Introduction - why is this research interesting, what's known in this area already?

Ability to test hypothesis i.e. collect data and mention why you're using this method. Must mention control and why it's a good control

Present results / data in concise and informed manner - nice charts / pics could be helpful but it must not become all about pics

Draw conclusion with possibly some speculation about limitations of research and what further research and investigation would be useful

Example question:

Does caffeine improve problem solving abiltiy?

Hypothesis - Yes I think so

Devise a problem test utilsing brain function - could be a combination of tests e.g. maths questions; puzzles etc.

test class mates with caffeine (different levels) vs no caffeine as control

More subjects tested the better as imrpoves stats

mention limitations of experiment design - other factors involved e.g. can't control for other dietary factors; innate problem solving ability.

Analyse data and put together in clear format - what does it show?

Draw conclusion and mention about other ways to take research further.

A good one that was done in 1997 that I remember was how accurate each news station was on the weather. Back then there were only a few stations, but it was interesting to see their outlooks and how far off a few were. Nowadays might be harder with the internet and everything abundant, but I remember that one well.

keep it running related

do a study to predict the 5k of each LRC poster based on last workout, what was had for lunch, income level, mpw, bad coach, and all the other questions that begin with "Predict my..."

there is a lot of data here if you want to sort through

your kid could become a LRC GOAT

OMG YASSSS U SHOULD BE PRESIDENT 😏

A cold fusion reactor should win it.

When my daughter was around that age she froze different color ice cubes, kept some clear, and plotted how long each took to thaw in sunlight. The darker ones absorbed more energy, while clear ice let the energy pass through, and took longer to melt. It was a simple idea, but a great project.