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DON’T PANIC! THE COMMUNITY OF SCIENCE FAIR WIZARDS ARE HERE TO HELP YOU… TEACHERS, PARENTS AND TEACHERS WORLDWIDE!
 I know when its science fair time because e-ons of emails arrive every day from parents, students and teachers:
Will you send me a science fair project?
What is a good science fair project that my daughter can do for her 7th grade science fair?
Do you know of an easy science fair project?
Do you know where I can find ….
Well, now we have created a Forum for you to share your science fair experience, ask questions and get answers from each other. This is a blog for students, parents and teachers… a place for you to help each other.
Each post is monitored and will be posted after it is read by an adult. So please keep your comments honest, clean, and helpful. This is an educational site. The purpose of the Super Science Fair Projects blog is to help you to create the best science fair project on the planet! It is not a place to visit with your friends or to joke around. Those posts will be deleted.
By subscribing to the Free Science Fair Enthusiasts weekly/monthly newsletter where you will be kept informed of new information posted on this Forum.
We look forward to your input.
Madeline Binder
Lately I have been focusing my blogs on science news that kids may find interesting and that teachers can use to create science demonstrations and science fair projects. However, I’d like to turn your attentions to science competitions that your students can enter. As a kid I loved to enter these contests. I found that they not only helped to direct my science skill development, but they were also a lot of fun. Also, as a side effect of entering a lot of skill contests, I accumulated a lot of cool science prizes and scholarship money. Which I am still benefiting from.
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 experiments. It is also a great way for kids to explore their own scientific skills which they can use to further their middle school science education.
Posted in middle school science competitions | No Comments »
Questions: Hi Madeline, I have an important question…My science fair project is due on Tuesday! How should I word my problem?…Does the color of a birdfeeder affect the amount of birdseed eaten by birds? OR Does the color of a birdfeeder effect the amount of birdseed eaten by birds? affect or effect? I just don’t know!! HELP!! Amy G.
Answer: it’s AFFECT in this instance.
The color of the bird feeder affects the amount of birdseed eaten by birds.
The effect of a colored bird feeder is to attract birds to the bird feeder.
Explanation: The majority of the time you will use AFFECT as a verb and EFFECT as a noun.
I remember the difference this way, “effect” is the result of something and “affect” is the action.
AFFECT means “to influence”
EFFECT means “the result”
The arrow affected the aardvark. The effect was eye-popping.
I want to thank Annetta, one of my writers, who answered this question.
Comments? Questions?
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You may be aware that your hair says a lot about you. Your hairstyle is used to express your personality, your hair color can hint to your ethnic background and the length and texture can also allude to your gender. However, did you know that your hair can also tell scientists where you live?
A recent study that involved hair samples taken from 65 cities revealed that the composition of a person’s hair was related to the certain chemical ratios found in their home town. It is a known fact that water molecules separate into hydrogen isotopes and oxygen isotopes as they accumulate in your hair. Researchers studying this phenomenon have found that the concentrations of these isotopes and their ratio to one another are similar to the concentrations and ratios found in the water supply of the area where a person lives.
Right now this discovery is being applied to forensic science. Hair samples can now be used to link certain people to crime scenes or to help track down criminals.
If you are looking for a unique biology science fair project idea then consider elaborating on this discovery. Hair is a great material to experiment with because it is easy to collect, it is free and collecting the hair doesn’t hurt the person the hair is harvested from. Possible science projects you can conduct with hair include:
Color and texture comparisons
Chemical composition experiments
Animal hair comparisons
The possibilities are limitless. Return to this science blog each Friday for more science fair project suggestions.
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Last week we talked about a new study that exposed the presence of BPA in a high number of test subjects. Today I’d like to get away from news stories to talk about the upcoming seasonal transition from winter to spring. This is a great time of the year to examine ecosystems, weather patterns and other outdoor phenomenon.
Tomorrow is the first day of March, and we are only a few weeks away from the official start of Spring. This means now is the perfect time to start planning spring science projects, demonstrations and experiments. If you teach the lower grades, K-3, then your projects can focus on the transition between winter and spring. You can plan seed germination experiments, lessons on the properties of matter and on the basics of an ecosystem.
Teachers that teach kids in grades 4-8, can focus on more complex topics like food webs, energy, solar power, the properties of heat, biology, the life cycle and astronomy. Spring is a great season to explore outside science concepts because kids are naturally driven to go outside. If you happen to have a school yard that has trees, or if you are close to a park, then plan outdoor classes that explore and chart the transition of a tree from its dormant winter state to its full foliage stage during the height of spring.
When planning your spring science fair projects try to think outside the box. Keep in mind that seasonal changes can be used to supplement astronomy lesson plans. Use educational science magazines for inspiration and information to enrich your spring lessons.
Posted in the science of the seasons | No Comments »
Last week we talked about the Intel Science Talent Competition and how it is providing over half a million dollars in scholarships to high school students across the country. This week I’d like to talk about a science news story that both alarmed me and intrigued me. The story is based on findings that people have traces of plastic in their bodies.
Now I’m not talking about plastic shards lodged in body parts, I am talking about very small particles of plastic compounds being infused in our very metabolic system. The compound that was discovered is BPA, which stands for bispheral A. This is a common ingredient for polycarbonates which are used to line food and beverage containers as well as to make items like baby bottles and food storage containers. The findings from this study showed that 92 percent of the 2,500 people tested had minute traces of BPA in their urine. While the amounts BPA were very minute, only “a few parts per million,” the impact on our health is still significant.
The reaction our bodies have to ingested BPA can be detrimental to our overall health. Problems with the reproductive system, digestive system and weight can all develop because of traces of BPA in our systems. What does this mean to students and science class? Well, as long term impacts of plastic use continue to be studied, students may need to focus their energies on looking at plastic alternatives.
Try starting a classroom discussion with this questions, “If plastic is determined to be hazardous to our health and is removed from the market, what else can we use instead of plastic?”
Questions like this one can be a great way to springboard science fair project ideas. Find other sources of inspiration from kid science magazines and intriguing science fair project websites.
Posted in health science news | No Comments »
What Do You Choose? Carrot, Egg, or Cocoa?
A carrot, an egg, and a cup of hot chocolate…You will never look at a cup of hot chocolate the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. 
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, in the last she placed ground cocoa beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word. 
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she poured the cocoa bean liquid into a cup. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘Tell me what you see.’ ‘Carrots, eggs, and hot chocolate,’ she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the hot chocolate. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, ‘What does it mean, mother?’
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it so tened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground cocoa beans were
unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter. ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a cocoa bean?
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?
Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a disappointing grade, a breakup, an argument with a family member or friend, or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my
shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the cocoa bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a cocoa bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you (I JUST DID); to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendships you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.
If you don’t send it, you will just miss out on the opportunity to brighten someone’s day with this message!
May we all be COCOA!!! 
PS: How can you turn this into a science fair project? Easy, do a survey and ask people how they handle adversity.
Posted in Gab-Gab-Gab | No Comments »
Question: Could you please let us know as soon as possible when it will be arriving?
Answer: Most people ask when their order is going to be delivered. If you live in the United States it takes about 5 working days to arrive at your door.
If you live in Canada, plan on 10 working days.
Remember, it takes about 2 weeks to 3 months to do an excellent science fair project. So don’t wait until the last minute to order a product.
If you only have a couple of days for your child to hand in their project that means that they waited too long to tell you that it was due. I suggest not hooking into their panic mode and making their problems yours. It is hard to do, but your children will learn a great life lesson, which is more important than the science fair project.
Now being a great parent you don’t want your child to suffer too much  so here are
24 hour science fair projects that you can get off the net and download immediately.
Good luck, Madeline
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Last week we talked about the breaking news on the discovery of dust clouds around nearby sun-like stars and the possibility of other Earth-like planets. Today, I would like to talk about a science competition that I mentioned in an earlier post, the Intel Science Talent Search. This science competition is now moving on to the final round in Washington, D.C.
At the beginning of this competition 1,602 high school students entered from schools across the United States. They presented projects from the fields of math, science and engineering. After a difficult round of judging, this amazing pool of young talent was narrowed down to just 40 finalists, 14 high school women and 26 high school men. During the finals, scheduled for March, these students will compete for their share of about $530,000 in scholarship money. Past winners of this competition have gone on to win Nobel Prizes and other honors.
The results of this competition have several implications that we, as educators need to examine. First of all the ratio of male and female finalists leads me to wonder if schools are taking steps to encourage young women to develop an interest in science, math and engineering. Perhaps this is a topic for discussion that needs to be started. The second implication that this competition raises is the profitability for students to participate in science and math competitions like this one.
Whether you are gearing up for a school science fair event, a state science fair competition or a classroom science demonstration, it is important that you take steps to get every student involved in the activities. Some students may take a little more prodding to get involved, but once you are able to plug them into the experience of scientific discovery their academic goals will be much easier to accomplish.
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For thousands of years we have assumed that the Earth was a unique chunk of rock, however, recent research suggests that this may not be true. Science fiction stories and movies have played around with the possibility that we are not alone in the universe and with the possibility that other Earth-like planets exist. Today we are almost positive that both of these concepts are possibilities.
A recent study that used NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope discovered that a significant percentage of nearby sun-like stars have dust clouds that orbit them. This means that the building materials for Earth-like planets are present and this increases the chances that such a planet may be developing or may have already developed. According to the findings of this study, there should be Earth-like planets in between 10 and 62 percent of the sun-like star orbits.
If you are planning a solar system unit, then it is important that you supplement your discussions with new findings like the ones mentioned in this posting. The problem with using text books to teach evolutionary classes like science, is that by the time the text has been written, edited, published and distributed, the information is already out-of-date. That is why you need to supplement text books with current science events, news articles and findings.
Science news blurbs can be great sources for outstanding science fair project ideas in addition to in class science projects and demonstrations. For help finding science news summaries and ideas about designing and developing science fair projects, return to this blog each Friday.
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Question: How are you today? I need to know do you have any science fair project kits on ROCK SLIDES for grade 9. Kenny
Answer: Have you considered doing a science fair project on how gravity contributes to rock slides? You would not need a kit for this. Go to Science Kit, Ward’s Science, and Sargent Welch. On each of these sites do a search for gravity. One of these supply houses will have what you are looking for.
Another possibility is to do a science fair project on how global warming is affecting the glacial slides along with the rocks that are embedded in them. This is called iceberg claving. You can read all about it on the Science News For Kids website.
Posted in questions and answers | 1 Comment »
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