Special Report: Science Fair Resources

Well, faithful readers, Science Fair season approaches. Here are some resources for setting up a prize-winning project and display.

Let's make some plans

California State Science Fair 2013 Category Awards:
http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2013/Awards
The site lists the award-winning projects of the 2013 California State Science Fair. While images of the projects are not presented, the write-ups, including hypothesis, experiments, and results are included. The site can assist student seeking projects or ideas on how to write their reports.

Education.com’s Science Fair Ideas:
http://www.education.com/science-fair/#all
While the site has a lot of advertisements, it also offers free science fair ideas. Visitors can use the search bar to find specific projects or the side filters to select specific topics and grade levels.

Food science!

Energy Quest’s Science Projects:
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/projects
After a brief description of what makes a good project, the site offers a list of science fair projects focusing on energy concepts. Many projects require the use of high temperatures, sharp objects, and complicated topics, so adult supervision may be necessary.

Iconic Displays’ Science Fair Resource Guide:
http://www.iconicdisplays.com/Science-Fair-Display-Guide.html
Rather than focus on the project, this site shows how to display projects at a science fair. The website includes color selection, graph creation, title creation, and layout advice.

Science Bob’s Science Fair Ideas:
http://www.sciencebob.com/sciencefair/index.php
This site does not present projects quite as clearly as some of the others, but it does provide selection advice and format recommendations. The site is a good resource for understanding the concepts behind a science fair project, rather than the projects themselves.

Garden science!

Science Buddies:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org 
This award-winning website provides project ideas, guides, and answers to visitor questions. “Help Me Find a Project” (http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml#helpmefindaproject) is especially useful for students with limited time and resources.

Science Fair Extravaganza: Science Fair Project Ideas:
http://sciencefair.math.iit.edu/projects
The website allows visitors to utilize household items to create science fair projects. It also lists additional resources and research recommendations.

Animal science!

Science Kids’ Science Experiments for Kids:
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments.html 
The site offers over forty different science experiments students can perform with household items. Each project includes a list of necessary materials, an experiment description, and an explanation of the results.

Science Fair Projects World:
http://www.sciencefair-projects.org/
This website offers detailed outlines for elaborate projects. Some require difficult to find materials, so consider the projects carefully before committing to them.

Technology science!