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Elementary Topics for Science Fair Projects

Science fairs allow students to do in-depth research on subjects that interest them. Not only will students gain a better understanding of their researched topic, but they also get a better understanding of the scientific process. Help students decide upon a science fair topic by giving ideas from each realm of science: earth, life and physical science.
  1. Earth Science: Tracking Weather By Clouds

    • Chart the types of clouds during specific weather patterns.

      Pique students' interest in becoming a meteorologist by having them track weather patterns and cloud types. This type of project works well for young students, since there isn't much testing involved. Have your student record data such as high and low temperatures, barometric pressure and humidity levels, and compare the data to the types of clouds present at the time. Ask the student to review the data and make predictions based on the weather patterns.

    Life Science: Does Smell Influence Taste?

    • Blindfold taste testers to see how much their senses impact identifying foods.

      Have you ever noticed that things don't taste the same when you have a cold? That's because your sense of smell influences how things taste. Ask a group of taste testers to try out some foods while they are blindfolded, and again while blindfolded with their noses pinched closed. Ask the taste tester to identify the food he ate and compare his guesses with the actual results. Determine if people tended to get one particular type of food correct or incorrect more than another. For example, people may more accurately identify salty foods than sweet foods. Retest foods to see if cooking them impacts the taste testers' results.

    Physical Science: Floating Fruit

    • Determine the buoyancy of various types of fruit.

      Teach students about buoyancy by seeing what types of fruit float. Gather large and small fruits together, and make predictions about which fruits will float and which will sink. Test for buoyancy and compare your predictions with the actual results. Do further research to determine why some similar fruits, such as lemons and limes, don't react the same way in water.

    Physical Science: Acids and Bases

    • Make a cabbage juice indicator from red cabbage.

      Cabbage juice is an interesting substance because the color of the juice reacts differently to acidic and basic elements. Use a pH strip to test different substances around the house, such as salt, milk, juice and beauty products, for exact pH level. Then expose cabbage juice to the substance to see the range of colors. Based upon the pH test and your cabbage juice testing, see if you can determine the pH of an unknown substance just by using cabbage juice.

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