As a scientist, I've judged many elementary school science fairs. I've seen my share of those old standby projects: the papier mache volcano, the red-veined celery, the home-made electromagnet and the ever popular consumer product tests of paper towels, bubble gum and soda. These project ideas are published in dozens of science fair books. But while they are good ideas, even the kids are beginning to get bored of them. So as a judge, I'm always on the lookout for new and unusual project ideas that come from kids' everyday experience.

Experiment with common items

Kids are natural born scientists who learn about the world through "play." For example, by playing with different kinds of balls, children can and do learn the following science facts:

• A small ball can be thrown farther than a big ball.
• The color of a ball has nothing to do with how it is thrown.
• All balls eventually fall back to earth.
• Balls make different sounds when they land.

This is real science! Science fair judges love to see this sort of stuff. A kid's genuine discovery, no matter how seemingly trivial, makes an excellent science project. Simply add some measurements, some observations, and a display that meets the science fair's guidelines.

The scientific method - for kids!

Real scientists are a little like big kids playing with rather sophisticated toys (electron microscopes, for example). The scientific method actually starts out as free exploration that resembles "play." At some point, the scientist notices something, then asks a question and guesses at the answer. That's the hypothesis. A series of experiments and measurements tests this hypothesis. Finally, tables, graphs and photographs prove the new scientific discovery.

Kids can be like real scientists and begin their scientific method with play. (read, No More Tears at Science Fair Time.) But since you don't really want them playing with their food, or with fire, or with mudpies in the kitchen, perhaps you could suggest something more appropriate to play with, like a toy.

To study the physical world, kids can use those toys they already own, like balls, building blocks, marbles, and toy cars. What is friction? What is gravity? Imagine all the different things your kid could try with a Slinky or a yo-yo!

Their laboratory - your house!

Popular and inexpensive science toys include magnets, gyroscopes, magnifying glasses, and prisms. I've seen many wonderful projects featuring these toys. Encourage your child to come up with his or her own hypothesis. I remember a 4th grader who had the idea that magnets could effect plant growth. He set up some pots, with and without magnets in the bottom, and planted a seed in each. I can't explain it, but somehow the plants with the magnets did appear to grow faster! He might have won first prize except for one mistake: his experiment included only 4 plants. The important thing, though, was that his idea came out of his head.

Sometimes science kits can help stir the imagination. (If you'd like to find out about science programs for kids, read Science Software for Great Science Projects.) If you decided to use a science kit, go through the guide and do all the recommended experiments. This might take awhile. That's fine. Put up a poster like the one in my laboratory which says, "Science isn't fast." This playing around becomes a set of preliminary experiments, which can be summarized in the final display. Did your kids come up with any questions during these experiments? Did they say, "I wonder what would happen if….?" Great! That's where the real fun is. Let them set up these experiments any way they like. Your job is to provide the supplies and to supervise safety.

If your kids have use of a microscope, they can use it to make magnified drawings of insects and other small creatures. They can compare soils in different places, feathers from different birds, water from different ponds.

In the history of science, every time a new piece of scientific equipment was invented, thousands of new discoveries followed. When you provide your kids with a new science toy, and the time to use it, they'll come up with their own discoveries. And what better science project could there be?

About the Author
Dr. Margaret Conover has been a science museum director for the last 10 years. She earned her doctorate in botany while studying in Australia, and lives now on Long Island, New York with her marine biologist husband and two teenage children.