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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
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 »
Water is a great compound to use for school experiments because it is cheap, free in most cases, and because it is a relative safe compound to work with. However, while these logistical features make water a practical ingredient to experiment with, but there is more to water than meets the eye. Water has very unique characteristics that allow it to accomplish things that other liquids cannot, and scientists are still learning new and exciting things about one of the most basic ingredients of life on Earth.
A recent news story about the properties of water at super cool temperatures stated that even at temperatures well belong freezing, or 0 degrees C, water can remain a liquid. While this in itself is an interesting tidbit of information, what is even more amazing is that when under significant pressure and super cooled, water actually exists as two unique liquid forms, high density water and low density water. What this means to science, no one knows yet, but the possibilities are limitless.
Soft, flowing, abrasive, tarnishing, sticky, cleansing, nourishing, sterile, life supporting, life threatening, clear, clean, fluid, frozen and gaseous. These are all words that can be used to describe water in its many forms. As a science teacher, scientists, parent or student, you have the opportunity to inspire people to examine how the elements of the world work together. Keeping up to date with news stories like this one, is just one way you can make science approachable, practical and contemporary for students.
24 hour science projects can utilize just about any compounds you have on hand. Water is a cheap, versatile and interesting ingredient that will allow you to create science fair project ideas that will be exciting, interesting and cool science fair projects.
Posted in science in the news | 1 Comment »
Question
Hi Madeline,
My son and I are working on putting together his Pico Turbine for his 4th grade Science Fair. I am not sure if you are intimately familiar with this project, but I have a question…
We have been able to get the expected 1.5-2.0 volts from the turbine by checking the output with a digital multimeter. But it does take a good amount of spinning the rotor to get to that point.
My son wants to know why we can’t get more voltage from the thing, and it made me question another configuration. Now, if I get 8 magnets instead of the 4 you sent in the kit, and position them every 45 degrees (and still reverse polarity each magnet) I should be able to double my output voltage, or at least allow my son to have to only turn the rotor half as fast to get 2 volts.
This leads to my question: Do you know the rating of that dual color LED that came with your kit? By my expectations, I should see 3 to 4 volts on this turbine when I get it to spinning the same speed as before; I just don’t want to smoke the LED in the process. Mike
Answer
More magnets would help achieve more voltage!
You would not smoke the led! Many have done this in the past.
Posted in questions & answers | 3 Comments »
Question: How would I measure the concentration of sugar or apple juice in different brands of apple juice.
Answer: According to the winedoctor.com the refractometer is a device that the juice from a wine grape is squeezed into which provides a sugar reading in the juice.
Another method, according to the wine doctor, is to use a hydrometer. The hydrometer is placed in the juice. The denser the juice, the higher the hydrometer floats; on the side of the stem is a scale, which allows the you to do a reading.
Posted in questions & answers | 1 Comment »
Last Friday I came across a news article that I think would make a great escalator for science classroom discussions. This news article discussed pharming. Pharming is a process by which scientists alter the genes of a plant in order to produce new drugs. This is not a new science issue, as it was experimented with in the Midwest years ago. However, the new problem is that despite the failure of previous attempts, scientists are trying this experiment again, this time in California.
Professor Danielle is the lead scientists in the latest push for the development of pharming in California. He proposes using lettuce as the vehicle for his pharming initiatives. However, this is a very dangerous experiment as there are (1) no safety standard laws for pharming yet and (2) there really is no way to keep pharming produce from interbreeding with non pharmed produce, or from keeping the pharmed produce out of our regular food supply.
To turn this news story into a classroom discussion you have several angles that you can take. First of all you can use this news story to start a discussion on genetic engineering. You can also use this new story to initiate a discussion about the ethics of science. Finally this news article can be used to inspire students to develop science projects based on genetics, food safety or other related concepts.
Finding inspiration for life science experiments and interesting earth science experiments is not difficult. News articles, scolastic science magazines and current events can all be great resources for information.
Posted in science fair ideas | No Comments »
I would like to order something for my son’s project but I would like to speak to someone directly. I DON’T SEE A PHONE NUMBER ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE. How do I know this is a legitimate operation before giving you my credit card information????
Posted in questions & answers | 2 Comments »
Would the Picoturbine Windmill Kit work good for a science fair project on how windmills work? And how long does it take to arrive? Jon
Posted in questions & answers | 3 Comments »
If you have been following this blog then you know how passionate I am about the environment and about using school based science fair projects to expand students’ understanding and passion for ecology and renewable energy development. This year the Super Science Fair Project website will be hosting several virtual science fairs. These contests can be a great way for you to get your child or students excited about science topics that will help promote the sustainability of the world’s ecosystems.
There are three different categories for the Super Science Fair Projects Virtual Science Fair. The first category is environmental focused science fair projects. Projects that will qualify for this category include: composting projects, recycling projects and renewable energy projects. The second category is design a “green building.” To qualify for this category you will need to design a project that explores the e-factors related to environmentally friendly building products. The final category is community projects. To qualify for this category you will need to design an ecologically or environmentally friendly community project.
Like past virtual science fairs offered by this site, the contest is open to students in elementary and high school. Projects will be judged according to three different age categories. Each age category will offer a first prize of either a Magnacraft 50mm power telescopre or an MP3 player.
This virtual science fair contest is a great primer for a school science fair competition or a springboard for designing new science projects for class. To get ideas for cool science fair projects be sure to read our past blogs, as they contain a lot of tips and hints for finding project inspiration and resources.
Posted in science fair contest - competitions | 1 Comment »
I am doing a science fair project to measure bacteria in refrigerated vs. unrefrigerated ketchup. Do you have kits that I can use to measure bacteria growth in ketchup? I would appreciate any help that you can give me. Ryan
Posted in questions & answers | 1 Comment »
Ten days ago this site launches the first 2008 Virtual Science Fair. Today I’d like to discuss tips for making your home green. This information can be used to help your students develop their science project entry for the category “design a green building.”
There are a lot of ways that you can transform your home into a “green home.” To start with you can clear out the clutter in your home. Clutter and items in storage are not being utilized. To get the most from the materials contained in these items you will want to sort the items that you want to keep and the items that you can get rid of. Next you will want to divide the items that you want to get rid of into a recycle pile and a donate pile. The recycled items will allow the raw materials from your unused items to be melted down and re-manufactured into new products, and the donated items will be reused by people who need them.
Conserving energy is another strategy that you can use to turn your home into a green home. Start by evaluating how much energy your family uses. Then find ways to save energy. For example you can use energy efficient appliance, you can turn your heat down one or two degrees in the winter and up one or two degrees in the summer and you can use compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of the incandescent bulbs. Finally, you can add extra insulation to your home to seal up energy leaks.
As you can see there are several ways to conserve energy in your home. These strategies can also be used to generate ideas for renewable energy and ecology science projects which can be entered into our science fair contest.
Posted in science fair project ideas | No Comments »
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