What Makes a Good Project?
1. You ask a question in a subject you are interested in – it’s something you like to think about and will be happy to spend time working on.
For example, you may have a pet bird at home who is a very picky eater. What is its favorite food? Does it ever get tired of eating the same food all the time? Once you’ve chosen a question, you must figure out a way to find the answer to your question. There are many ways to answer questions. You can design an experiment or a survey, build a model, or write a computer program that could help you find the answer.
2. A good project is one you can do mostly by yourself, with only a little help from grown ups - parents, Science Fair Organizers, teachers, and friends.
The reason to do a project is because it is fun and will help you learn something you didn’t know before. Having someone else help you too much takes away some of your fun at discovering something new, and you don’t learn as much. Your project doesn’t have to be perfect – if it follows the scientific method and is neat enough to read then it is good.
3. A good project is something you design and build by yourself from regular or every-day materials.
Doing it by yourself is more satisfying than simply buying a kit someone else made in the store. If you need any special equipment that you can’t find easily at home or in a store, please contact the Science Fair organizers, and we’ll try to help you get it.
4. A good project is one that, when you’re done with it, makes you think of new things.
One way to tell if you have a good project is to see if the results make you wonder about other things. Did seeing what happened in your project make you think of other questions you’d like to know the answer to? That’s a great project!
For example, you may have a pet bird at home who is a very picky eater. What is its favorite food? Does it ever get tired of eating the same food all the time? Once you’ve chosen a question, you must figure out a way to find the answer to your question. There are many ways to answer questions. You can design an experiment or a survey, build a model, or write a computer program that could help you find the answer.
2. A good project is one you can do mostly by yourself, with only a little help from grown ups - parents, Science Fair Organizers, teachers, and friends.
The reason to do a project is because it is fun and will help you learn something you didn’t know before. Having someone else help you too much takes away some of your fun at discovering something new, and you don’t learn as much. Your project doesn’t have to be perfect – if it follows the scientific method and is neat enough to read then it is good.
3. A good project is something you design and build by yourself from regular or every-day materials.
Doing it by yourself is more satisfying than simply buying a kit someone else made in the store. If you need any special equipment that you can’t find easily at home or in a store, please contact the Science Fair organizers, and we’ll try to help you get it.
4. A good project is one that, when you’re done with it, makes you think of new things.
One way to tell if you have a good project is to see if the results make you wonder about other things. Did seeing what happened in your project make you think of other questions you’d like to know the answer to? That’s a great project!
Links to Project Ideas
- Sciencebuddies.org
- Education.com
- More information about the steps for your Science Investigation