Children have natural curiosities about the world around them. Science projects are often the result of these questions students ask. Listen and make notes of the questions or interests the students have. Weather, plant life, astronomy and the environment are topics children of this age group are most interested in. Tailor a project to answer the questions they ask.
Once you have decided upon an interest to explore, have students brainstorm what they already know, what they want to know and ways they could explore and answer questions. Developing your question and then a hypothesis is important for children to understand. Make sure you have the necessary tools and items. These may include binoculars, magnifying glasses, measuring instruments, books or computer to conduct some research and paper and pencils to record observations.
Camps are often located on a lake or pond. Children dislike swimming where there is a lot of algae and weed growth. Design a project to increase understanding of the influence of fertilizer run-off to algae growth. Have children draw samples from the camp lake, pond or a river. Have one control sample and four other samples which have different amounts of a nitrate-based fertilizer mixed in. Each child can label each sample with amount of nitrates added, place his samples in a sunlit window and record what happens to the water samples over a 10-day period. Have children record and draw conclusions about their findings.
Weather and the animal world are often connected. Have children explore the sounds of crickets during hot weather. Test whether these insects can be used as thermometers based upon the number of chirps per minute the crickets make. Rely on crickets found in the wild, or purchase live crickets for the project. Create a habitat and have children record the temperature on a thermometer, and the number of chirps heard from the crickets over a 15-second period. Add 40 to the number of chirps. The total number should be equal to the air temperature on the thermometer. Children should be able to deduce that the faster the chirp, the higher the temperature. It is worth noting to students that crickets don't actually chirp. The noise they hear is actually the insects scrapers on their wings rubbing together.