13 year old
Middle School
Zack

Now you know why we promote doing a science fair project on something that you love to do. No one tells this middle school student to practice because he just loves drumming away for hours at a time. Did you every think of interviewing people to see what motivates them to be achievers?

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 Finding a good project for a science fair is not always easy to do. This is because the project not only has to be generally interesting and innovative, but it also has to be grade appropriate or better. This means that turning in a project that deals with fifth grade science concepts is generally not a good idea for an 8th grader.

8th Grade Science Fair Project Idea #1 – Magnetic Field vs. Vegetable Growth

 The first project that is appropriate for an 8th grader is to examine the impact of magnetic fields on vegetable growth and development. Here garden vegetables such as radishes, beans and peas can be used as the test subjects.

The student will need to set up a control group, which will be the garden plant that has not been subjected to abnormal magnetic fields, and test groups which will be subjected to magnetic fields. A simple version of this project will use only one test experiment group while a more complex version will set up several test populations and it will subject each test group to a different strength of magnetic field.

8th Grade Science Fair Project Idea #2 – Charged Up Fruits

In this science fair project students will be determining which fruit offers the highest electrical current. To complete this project the student will need a variety of fruits and a volt meter. They will set up the experiment to mimic the potato battery experiment, but with fruit instead of the potato. Voltage can be tested and compared.

8th Grade Science Fair Project Idea #3 – Fruit Fly Sex Ratios and Incubation Temperature

 Students that are interested in biology can experiment with fruit flies which have extremely short life cycles. This allows them to test multiple generations in just a single week. Here the experiment will focus on how the incubation temperature of fruit flies will impact the sex ratios that are produced in each generation. The goal of this project will be to determine if temperature impacts sex ratios or if it does not. This particular project can be modified to test other factors related to sex ratios such as the presence of toxins, gas ratios and UV exposure.

8th Grade Science Fair Project Idea #4 – Geoslide

 8th graders that are interested in geology can try out this project which focuses on the factors that contribute to a landslide. Here the factors that can be manipulated include slope, soil saturation, and seismic activity. The goal here will be to identify which factor has the greatest impact on landslide vulnerability or to determine if there is a relationship between the factors.

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 Wind energy has been slated as one of the clean, low cost energy sources to replace fossil fuels over the next century. While wind energy has been thought of as a good and health energy source there are some drawbacks that need to be taken into consideration before investing in it. To evaluate the potential impacts of wind energy usage it is essential to evaluate its pros and cons.

Pros of Wind Energy

 Wind energy offers a number of benefits and advantages when compared to fossil fuels and even to other renewable energy sources. The biggest advantage is that it is a very clean energy source. Nothing needs to be burned in order to produce wind energy. Another advantage is that it is a low cost energy source. In fact, after the initial investment to build and set up a wind farm there is little additional costs in terms of “mining” wind energy. Wind is free. The only subsequent costs are associated with wind turbine maintenance.

Accessibility is another top advantage offered by wind energy. Here, unlike fossil fuels that need to be mined and hydroelectric energy that needs a water source, wind energy is available around the globe. This makes wind energy not only a practical choice, but a logistically important one.

Cons of Wind Energy

 While wind energy has a number of advantages that make it a logical choice for the next generation of energy consumers, it also has a few cons tied to it. The biggest con is that wind energy is not reliable. Wind patterns change on a daily basis and are impacted by global climate changes. This means that the amount of wind energy produced each year will vary depending on weather patterns.

 Another con associated with wind energy is that wind farms have a dramatic impact on their environment. In order for a wind farm to be safe and functional a large amount of land needs to be cleared and set aside for the farm. This means that trees are cut down and vegetation is removed to make space for the wind turbines. This disrupts ecosystems and displaces animal and plant species.

 The final con associated with wind energy production is associated with the unknown impacts that wind turbines can have on life forms. For example, research is currently being conducted on the health impact produced by the noise pollution produced by wind turbines. Other possible health concerns are associated with the hazard of working on wind turbines.

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One fun science competition that your students can enter is the Toy Challenge. This year’s Toy Challenge is already under way, but sign up for the 2009 program will begin in the fall. I am telling you about this contest now because, as a teacher or mentor, you may need time to get school approval for putting together a team.

I like this particular contest because it requires each team to be comprised of at least 50 percent girls. A lot of contests focus on male entries, and this one tries to at least encourage girls to get involved in science competitions. Each team needs to be made up of between 3 and 6 students who are in the 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th grade. Each team will also need a mentor and coach. The coach will be responsible for handling the team’s administrative duties like registering the team for the competition and leading weekly meetings.

Getting kids involved in science is why you probably got involved in education. Science competitions, like the one mentioned above, is a great way to inspire students to create awesome science fair projects and experiments. It is also a great way for kids to explore their own scientific science experiments which they can use to further their middle school science fair projects education.

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