The time has come. You have been doing fun science experiments with your kids since they were old enough to say “slime” and now they have made it to another stage in life – doing science fair projects.
Panic sets in the moment you are asked by a teacher to help them pick a topic but how do you do this? Help!!
Well, you are in luck, because this entire She Loves Science website has experiment ideas you and your student can use for inspiration for potential science fair projects. But how do you go from slime and oobleck to making it into a fun engaging project?
I recently asked my 9th grader, Allie – a science fair pro and willing participant in most of these blog posts – to give her advice on how to pick a topic here. Her quote was:
“If you are going to do something basic – level up – and stand out!” 
She took her interest in UV light from doing these science experiments here – and made it into a project about attracting bees.
So here is a great method for leveling up and brainstorming your topic with a few ideas from this website that you can use!
- The Forgotten Onion:
- Background: I forgot I had that onion in the pantry and it sprouted and grew without being planted in soil!
- Apply this to a Real Life Problem: This is an example of hydroponic gardening and astronauts use hydroponic gardening in space to understand how we grow food on long journeys to Mars.
- Brainstorm a Title: “How To Use Hydroponics to Eat in Space“
- Find measurable ways to test your idea!
- Make Your Own Muddy Water Filter
- Background: We thought it would be fun to use stuff in our backyard to filter out muddy water
- Apply this to a Real Life Problem: There are real needs in the world for easier access to drinking water in countries that do not have infrastructure or water treatment plants
- Brainstorm a Title: “How to Make a Portable Unit for Safe Drinking Water“
- Find measurable ways to test your idea!
- On the Irony!
- Background: We didn’t believe that we could pull iron filings out of our cereal – until we did!
- Apply this to a Real Life Problem: There are people who suffer from iron deficiency and take supplements or at times get blood transfusions to combat low iron.
- Brainstorm a Title: “Can Cereal Save Your Life?“
- Find measurable ways to test your idea!
- Trick Candles
- Background: In this Instagram reel I show that you can use baking soda and vinegar to put out a flame
- Apply this to a Real Life Problem: Currently there are wildfires burning in California destroying people’s homes and livelihoods.
- Brainstorm a Title: “Can Fire Extinguishers be installed on homes using simple household items?“
- Find measurable way to test your idea!
A great resource for kids to stay up to date with news and real world problems is The Week Junior. We highly recommend it!
Now, you are well on your way to creating your very own science fair projects with super fun science ideas you may have already tried.
After you’ve done your project, it is worth a look at my Top 5 Tips from a Science Fair Judge on how to present your topic!
Please feel to reach out or comment below with your ideas and questions! I’m happy to help get you on your way with science fair – who knows – it could be the beginning of a great discovery for solving our world’s problems!
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