Ways to find a science fair project idea

1. Look at lists of science categories and pick one that you are interested in, then narrow that down to a project. (example, say you pick psychology, then narrow it to the differences between boys and girls, then to a topic like "Do boys remember boy-type pictures (footballs) better than girl-type pictures (flowers)?" (Two lists of categories attached)
2. Use your experiences Remember a time you noticed something and thought "I wonder how that works?" or "I wonder what would happen if..." then turn that into a project. Check the science section of the school library. Browse and look at book titles, then look inside the ones that look interesting to you. Also thumb through encyclopedias and magazines. Good magazines for ideas are: National Geographic, Discover, Omni, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Mother Earth News, High Technology, Prevention, and Garbage. Perhaps go to the downtown Library.
3. Think about current events. Look at the newspaper. People are hungry in Africa because of droughts - a project on growing plants without much rain, which types grow ok with little water? Or the ozone hole over Antarctica - how can we reduce ozone? -a project on nonaerosol ways to spray things. Or oil spills. how can we clean them up? -a project on how to clean oil out of water
4. Watch commercials on TV. Test their claims. Does that anti-perspirant really stop wetness better than other ones? What are the real differences between Barbie and imitation Barbie dolls? Can kids tell the difference between coke and pepsi if they don't know which they are drinking?

Add to Others Ideas:

Look at sample projects, look at this list, look at projects in books or projects from last years science fair - then add your own question, your own idea to them.

Don't just use these ideas.
Take these ideas and add something of your own.
For example, change Are dogs colorblind? to Are cats colorblind? Or look at another of the 5 senses of dogs and test their sense of taste...

• What material is the best insulator
• Are dogs colorblind
• Do soap bubbles last longer on warm or cold days
• Are hot air balloons different from blimps
• What is the best method, other than heat, to melt ice
• What effect does oil have on water plants
• What would happen to the weather if the Earth was a cube
• Do goldfish chemicals they sell you really help the fish adapt to the new aquarium
• How can a tomato plant be grafted to a potato plant How is sound obtained from a compact disk
• How does a nuclear reactor work, how does it look
• How is 2-yr old talk different from ours
• How does burning gasoline make a car move
• How do we tell how far away a star is from Earth
• What soils are best to build a house on
• How do plants react to different kinds of music, different light, colors, and different neighbor plants
• What is the best way to dispose of paper
• Do plants move

Try putting different words in these blanks...

What is the effect of ____________ on _______________?

detergent	     germination of seeds
temperature	   the volume of air

How/to what extent does the _____________________ affect ___________________?

humidity				          growth of fungi
color of a material			its absorption of heat

Which/what __________________ (verb) __________________?

foods			    do		   gerbils prefer
detergent		 makes		the most bubbles