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More Science Project Ideas - with Guidelines

Here are some guidelines for what a science project is and how you can make your project a big success.

There are two major paths you can choose when thinking about your project.

The first path is where you come up with an idea then you do an experiment to test it.

The second path is where you do observational work such as watching the lifecycle of a butterfly and you make hypotheses based on your observations.

 

 

If you are looking to do a science project for school or for a science fair or competition there are a few guidelines that I can give you that will help a lot. You can make this a fun and very successful project.

What is the purpose of a science project?

This is something important that you have to think about. Science is a matter of coming up with a theory or idea then doing some experiments to test that theory or idea. That is important. A commom mistake that kids make when doing a science project is just to explain something. Like explain how the eye works or how a volcano works And this is ok in the lower grades like grade school or elementary school.

But, when you get to the high school level the most important thing about doing a science project is the "experiment". What is the idea you want to test? How do you follow good procedures to do the testing of your idea?

Galileo's Gravity Experiment (falling bodies)

To explain this idea of testing your idea we can look at Galileo and his experiment where he dropped two balls off the top of a building. Up until his time it was commonly believed that the heavier an object the faster it fell! Yes, they really believed that. Galileo hypothesized that they would fall at the same speed.

So he did a science experiment! He dropped two objects off the leaning tower of Pisa. One weighing more than the other; And observed that they hit the ground at the same time.

And there we go! This is the formula for a successful science project. You take an idea or hypothesis then you arrange a test and observe the results! Success!

This is what is most important when it comes to a science project in the later grades like High School.

The three steps to a successful project:

Come up with a hypothesis - Set up an experiment - Observe the results

Ok, Need an Idea?

Well, I have a lot of ideas for you but you might want to give this some thought on your own first. Is there a particular area of science that you really like a lot? It could be astronomy, botany, zoology, biology, chemistry, physics.

Your first step is to choose a subject that you really enjoy. It will make it so much easier and so much more fun. You have also rounded things down a lot. Instead of the whole arena of science you now know to work just within one subject; and you know which subject.

More thoughts on making a good Science project

Observation - Science isn't always about setting up an experiment. Sometimes it is an excellent idea to do observational work. This is of course one of the very foundations of science - Observe, note and think about something. A good place to start with this would be to Make a butterfly box . It is a good project to raise butterflies and observe them through their lifecycle.

Thinking about a subject - If you are not sure what you want to make your project about you might want to take a look at the various branches of science. There will be things in this list that you are interested in. And if it seems interesting to you it might be a great subject to do a project. Look here: Branches of Science

 

 


101 Great Science Experiments

101 Great Science Experiments

Science writer Neil Ardley shows how you can use everyday objects to explore the basic principles of science with 101 exciting step-by-step experiments that are safe and easy to do at home.

 

 

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