Your Guide to Picking a Great Project and Winning Your Science Fair

by Shawn Carlson

Doing science is all about making sure you're not fooling yourself.

Science is a way of thinking about the world around us, a way of answering questions and having as much confidence as we humans possible can that we thoroughly understand the answer. Moreover, all science begins with self-skepticism–the realization that all of us are flawed human beings who make mistakes and who can very easily deceive ourselves unless we take extra-special precautions not to.

We call those special precautions the "scientific methods."

The yearly science fair project is perhaps the best opportunity most students get to practice self-skepticism by applying the scientific methods to conduct an original investigation. Unfortunately, most school projects offer little chance for a student to do anything original. Yet original investigations can be extremely exciting. In fact, for many young people, they can be a life-altering experience.

I think that the greatest thing about this resource is that every experiment in it could lead to an original discovery. Simply put, that is what makes it so different from all the other science fair project books out there.

This section of "The Amateur Scientist" is designed to help you select a great science project topic, conduct a solid experiment, and present a high-quality results. This page is a clearing house to point you towards some of the best science fair resources I know.

What is a Science Project?

The object of any science experiment is to learn something new about the world we live in. Usually, you start by asking a very clear and concise question, and then create a plan for gathering the information (data) you need to answer that question. You will collect your data by making observations.

Before you go about answering your question, however, it's always a good idea to make your best guess as to what you think the outcome is going to be. Making a best guess isn't the same as making a wild guess. A "best guess" is always informed by background information, well established facts that bear on your particular question. Scientists call such an informed guess a "hypothesis."

Of course, everybody likes being right. And so it's only natural for you to set out to prove your hypothesis. But there is a big problem with that, and it's called human nature. People who set out to prove themselves right tend to trip over their own egos. The moment you set out to prove yourself right, you've committing yourself to an answer before you do the experiment. And a committed person will, often unconsciously, tilt the scales a bit in their own favor. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a science fair project result that confirmed the student's hypothesis, yet violated the known laws of nature.

How to scientists avoid this trap? By NEVER trying to prove their theories right! Rather, the scientist struggles prove their best guesses WRONG!

The scientist asks, "How can I test this? Where might the flaw be? If this idea is correct, then what else has to be true? Can I test that?, and on and on until they run out of tests that could prove the idea wrong.

In short, scientists focus on falsifying their best guesses. Scientists have learned that it is only after you've tried your best to disprove your hypothesis, that you should begin to have confidence in your idea.

Struggling to falsify their own ideas and the ideas of other scientists lies at the very heart of what we loosely refer to as the Scientific Method.

If you collect good data, make careful observations, and use that information to try to disprove your hypothesis, you will have learned something. Then will you be doing real science.

Getting Started

Sorry, but if your science project due tomorrow, you're in trouble. You should check out my list of "Desperation Projects" right away. Jut don't expect an "A". Getting a good grade requires time to plan, do a good experiment, and then figure out what the data means. You'll also need enough time left over to make a good display. Next year, please get started earlier!

Step #1 of any science project is to start a notebook (See "The Science Project Notebook"). Every scientist uses a "lab book" to record their work. If you want to make sure you're not fooling yourself you need to carefully document everything that happens during your experiment.

The lab book will not only help you find the source of problems when they arise, it will also help keep the experimenter intellectually honest by removing any "wiggle room" in one's remembrance of events that may otherwise cause one to unfairly skew things towards one's own precious theory. A scientists lives by the the old Chinese proverb: "No memory is as good as faded ink."

Your lab book is the place to record what you learned by reading, talking to people, doing experiments, and making observations... everything that has anything to do with your experiment. If you are doing this project for a competitive science fair, few things will impress the judges as much as a well-kept notebook.

And remember, the attitude of any good scientist should be "If it isn't in the lab book, it didn't happen!" Let that be your motto as you carry out your research.

Next, take a look at some of the articles in the sidebar on the right to help you find ideas, develop your project, and do the necessary background work. Peruse the Guide to Easy Projects above and browse the indexes on the home page of this CD, or search for key words of topics that interest you. And make sure you follow your interests! If you can't find something that interests you somewhere on this CD, then you just don't like science.

Remember that once you decide on a question to answer, you need to figure out the best way to answer that question. Read the article "What is the Scientific Method?" to get a better feel for how to set up your project. Finally, read "How to Win a Science Fair" a couple of times to help you prepare your project for display.

Good luck!

A Word for Parents

The yearly science project often terrifies parents as badly as it does students. This is understandable; a good science project is an ambitious undertaking. It isn't like many school assignments where you can peek at the answers in the back of the book, or go read the Cliff's Notes. A science project at its best is a true exploration into something that the student doesn't know, where he or she seeks their own answers.

If you're feeling at a loss, you're not alone. Take a look at the article "Don't Go it Alone!" for some resources that can help.

Students often get worried their data does not support their hypothesis. Don't let them. There is no such thing as a failed experiment. In fact, science fair judges often find experiments that disprove the student's hypothesis to be a refreshing sign that that student has the honesty and intellectual integrity to actually be a scientists. These "null result" experiments are often graded higher than those that confirm the hypothesis.

If your child is doing his or her work carefully and honestly, sometimes an unexpected result can lead to a remarkable finding. It is even possible for a student's science project to result in a new, original discovery that has eluded the professionals. This doesn't happen very often, but it does happen. The upshot is not to worry if things take unexpected turns. That is part of the great adventure that is scientific discovery.