Making The Grade With Your Science Fair
Too often when students hear the teacher say that they have to come up with a project for a chemistry science fair, there are a lot of groans and grumbles. This really shouldn't be the case. Properly done, a chemistry science fair project is a good way to learn things. Furthermore, most projects that are expected of a primary or high school student should not take too much time away from the student's other activities. There are also many nifty benefits in cooking up and presenting a science project, fair or no fair, grade or no grade.
Benefits of Making a Chemistry Science Fair Project
A. You're bound to learn something new through your chemistry science project. For instance, testing the effectiveness of your detergent in reducing the water's surface tension is very useful in finding out which detergent will work best given your local water's "hardness." You could also learn new uses for ordinary items, and become a sort of real-life MacGyver - hey, you never know when that kind of scientific knowledge could save your life.
B. Speaking of learning new things, in the course of doing your project you're bound to do various types of research, such as collecting background information, finding out who you should be speaking to about your topic, tracking down books in the library or other information sources online, corresponding with experts from faraway places, getting permission to do certain activities or procure materials related to your project, and so on. Doing these things will help you become well versed in many activities you'll find useful beyond school: hunting down information from various sources, the use of proper phone and electronic etiquette, planning ahead for activities, and dealing with people. Frequently these social and organizational skills are just as important as technical skills when you're going to be working in a job. Chemistry-Based Science Fair Project Suggestions Some chemistry science fair project ideas include: · A favorite that never fails to impress onlookers, the fruit or veggie battery. Try powering something unusual with it, like an electronic calliope tootling out a funny tune. · For elementary level chemistry science projects, you can create your own crystal garden using supersaturated solutions of different water-dissolvable substances and a few bits of charcoal. Add a touch of food dye for color, set aside the whole thing for a few days, and you'll have a pretty visual aid to help illustrate the way different substances form crystals. Making fake glass using sugar is another version you can try. Adults will have to help in the heating, dissolving and decanting of the solutions. Remember, hot sugar can burn you badly!
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