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Dear Students!

Science Fair Materials!

I have searched for some resources for you, to help you in your experimental endeavors.  I have found three excellent websites that can give you some ideas; many with step-by-step procedures with extra guidance for completing all aspects of your project.  The Britannica link gives extensive instruction on how to write your science report.  This article also gives many links for more information regarding “writing the report.

I also have included seven books from our library collection that I thought would be most helpful to you. One database from the North Dakota State Library is also included in this annotated list of resources (a list where I give descriptions of each resource) that has over 1000 project ideas.  In this list there is also a fifteen-minute video that does a good job giving an overview.  Just click on the link to watch; its kind of funny too, so give it a look.  I have many other books in the library besides this list, so come on in, ask me about them and check them out.

Give yourselves time; even if your experiment doesn’t take long, preparing your display boards and writing up your report will takes some work and time.  Good luck, be safe, and have fun!  I can’t wait to see your projects.

I will give a simple list that I have for quick view; books, websites, database, and video.  Then I will give the annotations following the list.

Books:

  • Last-minute Science Fair Projects: When Your Bunsen’s Not Burning but the Clock’s Really Ticking by Sudipta Bardan Ouallen
  • Shocking Science: Fun & Fascinating Electrical Experiments by Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone
  • Sound Fundamentals: Funtastic Science Activities for Kids By Robert W. Wood
  • Light Fundamentals: Funtastic Science Activities for Kids By Robert W. Wood
  • Electricity & Magnetism Fundamentals: Funtastic Science Activities for Kids By Robert W. Wood
  • Heat Fundamentals: Funtastic Science Activities for Kids By Robert W. Wood
  • Mechanics Fundamentals: Funtastic Science Activities for Kids By Robert W. Wood

Web Sites:

Database:

Video:

Annotate Bibliography of the resources listed:
(Annotated simply means that there is a short description of the resource included with the list.)

Web sites and Video:

“Hands-on Science Resources for Home and School.” Science Fair Project Ideas, Answers, & Tools. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://www.sciencebuddies.org/>.

Science Buddies is an award winning nonprofit company that helps students, parents, and teachers find easily and quickly topics related to science that are interesting and engaging with their user-friendly website. “Whether your goal is to find a fun science activity for your kids or win the international science fair, sciencebuddies.org puts comprehensive, scientist-authored tools, tips, and techniques at your fingertips.”

Science Buddies has it all when it comes to working on science fair projects. It has a “guide to getting started” that takes students all the way through the scientific process. It also has “ask an expert” where students can ask a team of volunteer scientists for help. It also has a very impressive guide to choosing a project where students answer a series of questions.  Science Buddies will recommend projects based on the answers.

I give this site and 10 out of 10. It has everything a student needs to conduct a science fair project. It has 1000’s of great ideas that are relevant from scientists all over the country, plus it has help for students and parents along the way.

“Home – North Dakota State Library.” Home – North Dakota State Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. http://www.library.nd.gov.

http://www.library.nd.gov

• Science Reference Center: Database

I recommend this site for older, more academic oriented students from grades eight to twelve.  There are just over 1000 articles for “science experiments”. Students are able to create an account where they can save articles of interest, print, cite, and write notes about each article as they choose. There are quality experiments from many different magazines. Looking over a few of the experiments I was impressed at the quality of the experiments, however the scientific process is not so step-by-step, but if students are comfortable with the scientific process and are willing to take some time to browse, this database could be useful. Also, users can use a Boolean search with this database. Students who do not know how to do this can come get help from the librarian.

This database is paid for by the North Dakota State Library for residents of North Dakota to use for free. To access this database students must either use a computer at school or another library, or get the access code and password from the school librarian or contact a state librarian. The easiest way to access this site is to go to the North Dakota State Library webpage at www.library.nd.gov. Once there, click on databases. It is at this point if using internet away from school that you will need to enter access code and password. In the database section, scroll down and look for “science reference center” under the databases for “students.”. In science reference center there is a link on the side for “science experiments”.

I give this site a 7 out of 10. The experiments are good quality, but students need to know some things before hand, such as the scientific process and perhaps Boolean searching.

“Britannica School.” Britannica School. North Dakota State Library, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. <http://school.eb.com/>.

Britannica has an extensive article on how to write a science report.   This is geared more older, more academically minded student; there are 12 pages on how to write a lab report that students need to read and digest how to gear it toward their projects.

At the end, a bibliography is provided for their research on this subject matter, but also many more links on writing a science report geared toward the science fair.  The exact link for this article is: http://school.eb.com/resources/pdf/BSW_Science_Report.pdf

Levine, Shar, Leslie Johnstone, and Emily S. Edliq. Shocking Science: Fun & Fascinating Electrical Experiments. New York: Sterling Pub., 1999. Print.

This book teaches students about what electricity actually is.  It also discusses some of the pioneers of electricity.  There are many activities and experiments that deal with electricity.  Students can learn to make a simple motor, crate a generator, and design a circuit board.  I recommend this book for upper elementary to junior high students, although, younger students could do these with help from an adult.

There is a table of contents so that students can browse the topics and easily flip to the projects that they are interested in.  It has a total of 80 pages with easy to read and easy to follow information and projects with great pictures and illustrations.  There is also other useful information in the sidebar.

This book is easy to use and most of projects can be used a basis for science fair projects.  All the equipment and supplies should be able to be purchased at a hardware store or an electronic store.  Many can actually be found around most households.

This is a great easy to use book where students can learn about electricity and get ideas for the science fair.  I give this book a 6 out of 10.

“Sciencebase.” Sciencebase. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.

http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/prepare-for-science-fair.html  Video.

www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/prepare-for-science-fair.html

This is an animated fifteen-minute long video.  The cartoon is aimed to prepare middle students for the science fair with entertaining graphics, music, and dialogue that students can relate to. This short video goes over steps such as picking a topic and conducting research and forming a hypothesis. It also talks about the design, controlled variables, manipulated variables (independent variable), and the responding variable (dependent variable). The video then goes on to explaining the materials and procedure portion of experiment. It also touches on conducting the experiment, interpreting the results and making a conclusion. It also talks about how to make a successful display board, presenting and the judging aspects of the fair.

This is an excellent video that goes over all the aspects of the science fair in a short entertaining video. I give this video a 9 out of 10.  Every student should take time to watch the video before preparing for the science fair.

“Science Fair Experiments.” EIA Energy Kids –. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=sf_experiments>.

http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=sf_experiments

This website is called “Energy Kids” and is sponsored by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. This agency collects data of all energy sources, uses, and flows. This page has links to energy experiments, courtesy of the National Energy Education Development Project, as well as a “guide to planning a science fair project, and “an award winning, fifteen minute, cartoon prepare for the science fair.” There are experiments for k-12 students.

The experiments open with a pdf file.  They are easy to understand with user-friendly format that has the same layout for all the experiments with slightly easier format for the k-3 experiments. It starts out with the name of the project at the top, followed by short background information for the topic. A key vocabulary world defined, followed by questions that students are to find out through extermination. It then gives some possible hypotheses. A list of materials is also given, followed by the procedure, analysis of procedure and real world connection.

I give this site an 8.5. There are only a few experiments for each grade, and only energy experiments, but the preparation for the science fair video and guide are great for all students who plan on participating for the science fair.

“Science Fair Project Ideas.” – Over 2,000 Free Science Projects. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2014. http://www.education.com/science-fair

http://www.education.com/science-fair/

Education.com is a website that contains a wide variety of helpful tools and tips for parents, teachers, and students. Among those things are 1000s of free science experiments for k-12 students. The science fair portion of this site has filters to narrow down experiments for individual interests. Students can filter by grade level and subject. Some examples of subjects are food, sports, behavioral science, physical science and many more.

Two other unique features is that students can choose how to sort the experiments several different ways. For example, they can sort by “our favorite”, “highest rated”, and “most relevant”.”

I give this site a 7 out of 10. It is great that students can browse the different categories of their interest. The key word feature while they are browsing is also a nice feature.

Books:

Bardhan-Quallen, Sudipta. Last-minute Science Fair Projects: When Your Bunsen’s Not Burning but the Clock’s Really Ticking. New York: Sterling Pub., 2006. Print. Just a warning to students: Do not wait till the last-minute! However, if you get in a bind, and need to come up with something, fast, this book has some good ideas. I recommend this book for students from upper elementary to seventh or eighth grade.

This book contains 112 pages, including an index, with easy to follow projects. The pages have large print and illustrations to help students follow step-by-step procedures. Each project starts out with a little bit of background information, followed by some key words, a question, hypothesis, and a list of materials needed. Following that, there is a small section that discusses results with follow up questions for students to explore. Each project also has extension questions that students explore if they have more time, or would like to pursue further the next year, when they have more time. The book starts out with projects to do if you have “a week or two”, followed by some for “a few short days”, ending with projects for “24 hours and counting”. The introduction does a nice job discussing science fairs and all the things that a student needs to do to prepare and conduct the science fair, including a project report.

This is an easy to read, easy to follow book that has many projects that most students can do with items around the house with little to no supervision. I rate this book a 7 out of 10.

Wood, Robert W., and Richard E. Brown. Sound Fundamentals: Funtastic Science Activities for Kids. Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House, 1999. Print.

A book from our “Fundamentals” series follows its usual format: it is easy to use and read books with activities and experiments that can be performed with most of the materials located around the house. I recommend this book for upper elementary to seventh or eighth graders.  There are 125 pages in this book with a glossary in the back.

There are over 25 activities in each book that students can perform, and can be completed in a short amount of time.  Each activity has a catchy comical bubble above the title and then a challenge, followed by a step-by-step procedure and a list of materials.  There are illustrations that help with clarity for each experiment.  At the end a short description about what happened is given with some follow up questions for further discussion.  Finally it concludes with fun facts regarding the principal that was being discussed.

All measurements are given in both English and metric systems.  Also, all books have a “Safety Stuff” chapter that notes precautions that students to take and alerts students when an adult should be present.

Students can participate in activities such as “creating thunder”, or “making music in a bottle”. They can also learn about such things as static and how sound is embedded on a CD. This is a great resource on the fundamentals of sound and has easy yet important principles of sound.  Although the book is fifteen years old, the projects are relevant and engaging.

Wood, Robert W. Light fundamentals. Series in FUNdamentals (Philadelphia, Pa.). Philadelphia, Pa. : Chelsea House, 1997. Print

A book from our “Fundamentals” series follows its usual format: It is easy to use and read books with activities and experiments that can be performed with most of the materials located around the house. I recommend this book for upper elementary to seventh or eighth graders.

There are over 25 activities in each book that students can perform, and can be completed in a short amount of time.  There are 139 pages in this book

Each activity has a catchy comical bubble above the title and then a challenge, followed by a step-by-step procedure and a list of materials.  There are illustrations that help with clarity for each experiment.  At the end a short description about what happened is given with some follow up questions for further discussion.  Finally it concludes with fun facts regarding the principal that was being discussed.

All measurements are given in both English and metric systems.  Also, all books have a “Safety Stuff” chapter that notes precautions that students to take and when an adult should be present.

This book in the series, discusses light, and gives activities and experiments for students to perform as “basic introduction to the study of light.”  Students “will learn what light is, where it comes from, and some ways to use it.”

The introduction of this book tells us how important light is and that the sun is our most important source of light.  Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation.  With the experiments in this book students will learn “what light is, where it comes from, and some of the ways you can use it.”

I rate this book a 7 out of 10 with its easy to read and easy to perform activities.

Wood, Robert W. Electricity and magnetism fundamentals. Series in FUNdamentals (Philadelphia, Pa.). Philadelphia, Pa. : Chelsea House Publishers, 1997. Print.

A book from our “Fundamentals” series follows its usual format: It is easy to use

And easy to read books with activities and experiments that can be performed with most of the materials located around the house. I recommend this book for upper elementary to seventh or eighth graders.  There are over 25 activities in each book that students can perform, and can be completed in a short amount of time.

Each activity has a catchy comical bubble above the title and then a challenge, followed by a step-by-step procedure and a list of materials.  There are illustrations that help with clarity for each experiment.  At the end a short description about what happened is given with some follow up questions for further discussion.  Finally it concludes with fun facts regarding the principal that was being discussed.

All measurements are given in both English and metric systems.  Also, all books have a “Safety Stuff” chapter that notes precautions that students to take and when an adult should be present.

Simple principles of electricity and magnetism are explored with the easy, but engaging activities in this book.  Did you know that a lemon could be used as a battery?  Find out why and how in this book, along with many more principles of electricity.

I give this book a 7 out of 10.  The activities are simple; most kids can do them while they discover the basics of magnetism and electricity.

Wood, Robert W. Heat fundamentals. Series in FUNdamentals (Philadelphia, Pa.). Philadelphia, Pa. : Chelsea House, 1997. Print.

A book from our “Fundamentals” series follows its usual format: It is easy to use and read books with activities and experiments that can be performed with most of the materials located around the house. I recommend this book for upper elementary to seventh or eighth graders.  There are 126 pages in this book.  There are 132 pages in this book, along with a glossary.

There are over 25 activities in each book that students can perform, and can be completed in a short amount of time.  Each activity has a catchy comical bubble above the title and then a challenge, followed by a step-by-step procedure and a list of materials.  There are illustrations that help with clarity for each experiment.  At the end a short description about what happened is given with some follow up questions for further discussion.  Finally it concludes with fun facts regarding the principal that was being discussed.

All measurements are given in both English and metric systems.  Also, all books have a “Safety Stuff” chapter that notes precautions that students to take and when an adult should be present.

This is a book from the “Fundamentals” series by Robert. W. Wood, that covers heat.  The introduction goes over the basics of what heat is.  It gives the definition of molecules and kinetic energy with a short discussion about how all objects have molecules and contain heat.  The introduction is easy to understand and gives examples that students can understand and relate to.

“Although the activities in this book are easy to perform, they illustrate important principles about the world around us.”  I give this book a 7 out of 10.

Wood, Robert W., 1933. Mechanics fundamentals. Series in Wright, Robert W., 1933- FUNtastic science activities for kids. Philadelphia, Pa. : Chelsea House, 1997. Print.

A book from our “Fundamentals” series follows its usual format: It is easy to use and read books with activities and experiments that can be performed with most of the materials located around the house. I recommend this book for upper elementary to seventh or eighth graders.  There are over 25 activities in each book that students can perform, and can be completed in a short amount of time.   This book has 147 pages with a glossary.

Each activity has a catchy comical bubble above the title and then a challenge, followed by a step-by-step procedure and a list of materials.  There are illustrations that help with clarity for each experiment.  At the end a short description about what happened is given with some follow up questions for further discussion.  Finally it concludes with fun facts regarding the principal that was being discussed.

All measurements are given in both English and metric systems.  Also, all books have a “Safety Stuff” chapter that notes precautions that students to take and when an adult should be present.

This book, “Mechanics”, explores physics.  Physics the introduction tells us, “is the science that explores the natural world around us.  It tells how and why a lever can lift a heavy weight, why hot air rises, and what light is.  It is the study of electricity and magnetisms, and how sound travels.” (ix)    In particular, this book studies mechanics; the study of the effects of forces on bodies or fluids at res or in motion.” (ix) Simple yet important concepts that students can read and perform; I give this book a 7



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