Help!! Science fair project ideas???

[TJ's Mom]

Anyone have a good idea for a science fair project? 4th grade - Science Investigation Project.
Here are the ideas we came up with:
1. First idea that my daughter wanted to do but had to scratch was see which soil plants grow best in. Unfortunately, I had to tell her we do not have enough time.

2. Which kind of cola do people prefer? Is the brand name the best?
3. Same idea with peanut butter.
4. Do organic foods taste better?- compare organic foods (like fruits and vegetables) to nonorganic

What do you like best and what other ideas do you have?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My dd is doing a bubble project.

1) Dishwashing liquid with water.
2) Dishwashing liquid with water and corn syrup.
3) Dishwashing liquid with water and glycerin.

I didn't get to see her do it because the teacher is making them do it at school as a group project.

 

[thotfulspot]

I don't know if this is too math-related, but two words: binary clock.

 

[Cantw8]

how about a self contained bio dome?????

 

[Tinijocaro]

The quicksand project is a very interesting one, and very easy. Cornstarch and water is all you need, the science learned is viscosity (sp?) and why quicksand works the way it does.

My dd had the longest line at the science fair last year with kids wanting to do a hands on experiment. There were so many entries that were "read only or hands off. It took minutes to make, the poster explaining things is what took a bit of time but the setup of the actual concept was nothing.

 

[KariC]

You know, I really think the Organic food comparison is a great idea! Is there a way she can compare if it is healthier too? I know I've seen a few studies lately that say there is no difference nutritionally....

I think, at that age, I might have done something on rainbows...

 

[chager]

In 4th grade DS did a comparison between nonchemical cleaner and chemical cleaners. In 5th he did a study on illusions and age group. He studied who saw which image or both images and charted answers based on age groups. My nephew did a study on which type of charcoal or wood burns quickest and longest. (Almost burnt our swingset down with this one!! Why mom picked under the swingset as a test location I don't know!! )
The illusions took a first place and the wood/charcoal took a 2 nd place.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I always loved thes. A desalinizaton thingies. All you need is something to hold the water, lamp and celephane or plexiglass. I am sure you can find it on the web.

 

[yeartolate]

We did one investigating the mileage you get with different types of gas - complete with price comparisons.

We filled the tank with 5 gallons, ran to empty with each type of gas.

We did this 6 times

(each type of gas with street driving then each type of gas with mostly freeway driving)

Easy board set up, great pictures.

We figured out how much you would save in a year for a corolla versus an expedition by using the cheaper fuel (regular vs. Supreme)

He got the first place and the display was the most popular.

 

[johnsontrio]

Here's a great one from DD's school several years ago. One student took beads that change various shades of purple based on how much sunlight they have been exposed to and tested several different sunscreens to see which was the most effective. She used sunscreens that varied in price from inexpensive to uber-expensive, think Department store brands.

The beads remain the color to indicate the exposure and made a nice display and she showed the cost comparison of the products used. It would also be very easy to find items to decorate her display board. She could also include educational information regarding skin cancer etc.. Good luck!

 

[powellrj]

I googled the subject last year when I thought DD needed a project, and one of the cool ones was do colored candles burn differently than white ones.

 

[TJ's Mom]

Great ideas! Thank you so much. They have to have a problem and I think they really want to compare stuff. If not, the quicksand would be cool (I want to try it just for fun!). Love the gas idea but with today's prices, I'm afraid science fair would put me in the poorhouse!

The bead thing sounds cool but I have no idea where to get the beads???

Any others?

 

[Mickey Fliers]

A girl at school investigated which method removes gum from hair the best. She saved all her hair from her last haircut and experimented with all sorts of home remedies. Ice, peanut butter, olive oil. etc. I do believe that she won.

 

[grlpwrd]

One of my dd's friends (7th grade) did the candle project and she placed in the top 3.

My dd did a memory experiment: who had a better memory of recalling 25 items - boys or girls? She ended up getting an honorable mention and her work was all her own.

Another project was how flowers grew in different solutions, such as water, milk, soda, etc.

My other dd's project was comparing the battery life of different batteries in an MP3 player, such as Energizer, Duracell, etc.

Another project I saw at the fair was which food did a pet frog like best, such as crickets, pet store frog food, etc.

Hope any of this inspires you and your dd...GL!

 

[Christine]

I don't know how this one will turn out but my friend's daughter (6th grade) is doing one on water. She is wondering if the sodium content in water affects the taste and which do people prefer (not sure what her hypothesis is yet).

She is different types of water: tap, bottled spring, bottle purifed and having everyone taste the water and note their preferences. Whether the "testers" will agree with her is yet to be seen.

 

[KristiKelly]

DS in 3rd grade did "Does the size of the pumpkin determine the number of seeds?"

4th grade - "The effects of freezing and boiling a balloon" He got honorable mention for this. Blow up a balloon, measure it, put it in the freezer and measure it in 5 minute intervals for 30 min or so. then do the same in hot water measure as it comes to a boil. I thought the balloon would pop...

5th grade - "The effects household chemicals have on fabric" This year he had to do something pertaining to textiles. He took 4 X 4" swatches 100% cotton, silk, wool, & poly. I bought 20 jars of baby food - cleaned the jars and he put chemicals in each - Draino, bleach, ammonia, vinegar, Lime-away, left the fabrics overnight, then removed allowed to dry. Then placed the swatches on his board with report and results.

Someone else, took different types of socks and placed ice cubes in them to see which ice cube melted first (warmest sock) to the one that melted last (coolest sock) - pretty neat.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

My kids weren't allowed to do product comparisons so that type was out. They had to write a research aper to go with the project which made it difficult to come up with something to research too.

My favorite that DD did was to compare which socks kept you warmer. She took empty gatorade bottles, about 24 ounce size, and filled with water at about body temperature. All the same temp. She had a control bottle with nothing on it then other bottles with socks on them: cotton, wool, rayon, and a nylon stocking. She put them in the fridge and then measured the temp of the water every 5 or 10 minutes to see which insulated the water better. I thought it was intersting. And now I know that nylons do nothing to keep you warm.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

Last year when DS was in 4th grade, he was really into Silly Putty and wanted to do something related to it. We went on the internet and looked up a bunch of different recipes for homemade "silly putty" and printed them out. Most of them had similar ingredients with a few variations, so we bought the ingredients and a brand new egg of store bought Silly Putty.

We mixed up something like eight different kinds of "silly putty" and made each one a different color. Then we did experiments with each one such as which one stretched the farthest, which one bounced the highest, which one transfered newsprint the best and, finally, we left a ball of each one sitting out and recorded how much they spread and whether they were still useable after about a week. All of the homemade ones were compared along with the store bought one.

The kids at the science fair liked that there were samples of all of the different types to play with.

 

[LSchrow]

DS did a comparison on paper towels:
which brands were stronger (both wet & dry, with varying weights) & more absorbant (using differents liquids
the differences in the towels that were notable (fiber content, quilting, etc)

it was very interesting, imho & he placed third in the school-wide science fair. (curious to know which brand was the clear winner in all catagories....? )

DD did a project on optical illusions. she included very extensive research, & displays of illusions (huge hit!!). 1st place in the school-wide fair.

just remembered another: DS did a project to see if gender in dogs influenced their personality (we had a male & female golden). btw, what i had been told at the guide dog foundation was verified: the male was more "eager to please", & easily responded to spoken commends. the female absorbed & understood the information, but would only do them if she felt like it lol. that one was fun too!

some of the best projects come about by asking the child to look around the house, & see what piques their interest. i asked mine to really look, & think about what items could be changed or controlled, by them or environment......at the very least, it makes for some interesting discussions lol

hth

 

[funhouse8]

My DD did a fun one...Can you tell the sex of the person by looking at their feet? She took pictures of peoples feet and put them into a small photo album with numbers. Of cause all the womans feet had to be clean of nail polish. She then made up sheets so while you looked at the pictures you decided male or female. At the end No one could tell the difference and most thought the mens feet were womans feet because they actually were prettier. After years of us woman wearing heels and uncomfortable shoes we have ugly feet.