How to Start a Science Fair Project
- Ideas for Projects
- Ideas for projects don’t necessarily pop into one’s head spontaneously. It is important to work on a project that is in an area of interest to you. Evaluate your hobbies. Is there a hobby that gives you great satisfaction and is fun? Is there an area of interest to you that you are not familiar with and have always wanted to understand? Surf the World Wide Web, read the newspaper, read a magazine, read your textbook on chemistry! These are often good places to start!
- Formulate a Question or Hypothesis that can be tested
- Once a general area of interest has been chosen, you must formulate a question or hypothesis to address. Once a question is asked, then it is easier to determine how to answer it. (This topic is covered in another handout.)
- Resources of Information
- Once you have formulated a question, you need to find out what answers have already been obtained. You need to perform a literature search on the topic. This can be done at a library (ask your librarian to help you). The community library and the university library are excellent sources of information. The World Wide Web is becoming a very impotant source of information, as well.
- Once you know what has been done on this topic, then you can address what is new (or innovative) about your ideas. Stress those innovations when carrying out the experiments and in writing up your report and poster on your project.
- Procedures on how to approach your scientific problem can also be found in many resources. It is very important that you be as quantitative as possible: make measurements that are meaningful and straight-forward. (See other handouts regarding measurements.)
- Where to do the Research
- Where you do your research depends on your project. Many projects can be done at home. However, be aware that there are many people at the University who are willing to help budding scientists with their science fair projects. This help may be in the form of materials or procedures or facilities or new insights into the project. It is up to YOU, however, to initiate and organize the work.
- Have fun!