Free Science Fair Project Ideas for Grades K-12

Free Science Fair Project Ideas for Grades K-12

sciencebuddies.org

Science Buddies
P.O. Box 5038
Carmel, CA 93921
email: scibuddy@sciencebuddies.org

Hundreds of detailed science fair project ideas for all grade levels in a wide range of topics from Aerodynamics to Zoology.

The common theme running among all Science Buddies programs is the goal of identifying specific student needs (e.g. "I need help selecting a topic for my project") and creating solutions (not just reading material) that actively engage students and scientific professionals. Our programs focus on:

* Involving science and technology professionals to interact directly and
indirectly with the students, making science real.

* Leading students to projects that are more challenging and have a higher science
content than projects they might choose on their own.

* Saving students time and frustration: students WANT to use our tools because
they save them time and make science research more fun.

We offer a number of resources for students and teachers:

1. The Science Fair Project Guide is an online encyclopedia for how to do
science research and science fair projects. It includes step-by-step
guidance, actual sample assignments, photos of science fair projects, tips
for success, and self-grading checklists for students.

2. The Topic Selection Wizard (TSW) is an immensely popular, interactive tool
that helps students to explore different topic areas for their science fair
project. First, the tool leads students through a series of plain English
questions to help them determine science fields of true interest to them.

Then the tool analyzes student responses to provide a custom-tailored selection of science fair Project Ideas. Project Ideas are developed either in house by Science Buddies' staff scientists or by science professionals who collaborate with Science Buddies. Each Project Idea includes a description of the subject matter, bibliographic references, locations of Internet-based public domain tools and/or real-time scientific data, and suggestions for experiments.

3. Ask an Expert (AAE) is a monitored, online forum staffed by volunteer
scientists and talented science students who help students anywhere, on a
drop-in basis, with their project questions. AAE is a great way for a
student to get help when they don't have a parent, teacher or other adult
with the knowledge, time, or desire to help them. When students have such
help, they have more fun doing their science fair project, undertake more
challenging experiments, learn more, and generally develop a more positive
interest in science. AAE also offers a searchable database of past questions
and answers so that other students may benefit from past discussions.

4. The Teacher Resources section includes information to help teachers guide
their students to do research projects or conduct a science fair.

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