Science experiments come in all shapes and sizes. When selecting a science experiment you don’t want to rely on the same tired old ones. To keep your kids or students excited about science, occasionally you have to work outside the box.
Finding new ideas for your classroom demonstration that are new, innovative and topical, means that you have to spend time researching science break throughs and science news. However, what I like to do when I am stumped for demonstration ideas is to brainstorm with my students to see what they are interested in, what science topics are impacting their worlds and what concepts they want to experiment with. During the brainstorming session I have one of the students act as the record keeper. They write the ideas on the chalk board or dry erase board. We then vote on the topics at the end of class to narrow down our options to the top five. I then use this list to focus my research and to come up with a new demonstration.
When researching a science topic to come up with a new in class demonstration or science project, I like to start by looking at the websites developed by government agencies, like the Department of Energy. These sites tend to offer the best free resources for teachers including multimedia downloads, lesson plans and other supplemental materials. I then supplement this information with other materials that I find online and in the school’s library.
In class science experiments are a great springboard for energy science fair projects. Visit this blog on Mondays and Friday to get new ideas for science experiments and to learn more about contemporary science fair projects and education.
