Science Fair Project Resource Guide

• 1. Getting Started
• 2. Choosing a Topic
• 3. Completing the Project
• 4. Displaying Your Project

Think up a Research Question

This section will help you turn your questions into scientific hypotheses. Remember! A good science fair question is one that you can think of a way to answer.

Cyberbee: Science Fair Project
http://www.cyberbee.com/science/sciproj.html

Read through and fill out this worksheet to make your topic more specific and to learn how to tell your variables from your results.

Science Buddies: Background Research
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_biblio.shtml

Learn how to do your background research using a sample project to illustrate the process. You’ll learn where to go to find information and what your research is supposed to tell you. The "Question Words Table" will help turn your research into a testable question.

What Makes a Good Science Fair Project? - California State Science Fair
http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/Resources/Good_Project.html

Explains the difference between a good hypothesis and a poor one, as well as why "getting the right answer is NOT the purpose of a Science Fair project." A list of common mistakes is found at the end.

Wiley: Developing a Science Fair Project
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-104125.html

Look at the section on "tinkering research" to see why you start researching before your project idea is fully formed. Also see the five questions which need "Yes" answers before your experimental project is ready to go.