The Appropriate Science Fair Approach For Middle School
Your actual grade level - particularly the science subjects you are taking at this level - is a logical basis for picking a science project. If you are discussing chemical reactions, force, the solar system and such, then you can be fairly certain that projects that tackle such topics are acceptable entries to middle school science fairs. However, there's more than just the topic to think about. The topic may be related to your classroom discussions and class activities. Is your project design suited to your grade level though? For example, if you are trying to demonstrate that energy cannot be destroyed, presenting a rundown on other scientists' findings is not going to do the trick for you. Since you are already in middle school, not only are you expected to know more than those in the elementary grades, you are also deemed to be more savvy when it comes to designing science fair projects. Thus, it would be preferable if you are to do experiments rather than simple demonstrations. Your topic, moreover, should be fairly original and unique. At this point, you should have learned enough to know what questions you can ask and answer through a science project. If you don’t want to perform an experiment, you can do modeling instead. Here, you actually create a minute, yet fully operational version of a machine that will let you emphasize or give credence to a scientific concept. For instance, to demonstrate that wind energy can indeed be converted to electric energy, you can create a small wind turbine assembly that can indeed generate electricity. It would be even better if you can follow the specifications of an actual wind turbine assembly; you just have to scale it down, of course.
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