Science Fairs

Here are some links for anyone looking for ideas for science fair projects.



The Ultimate Science Fair Resource - Ideas, Information, Help, ...
Working on a science fair project? ... Find ideas for projects, step-by-step project instructions, links to other resources, and The Idea...

Science Fair Central
Discovery Channel's site offers ideas for science fair projects and experiments
for kids and science fair guides for students, teachers, and parents.

Creating Winning Science Fair Projects
Learn how to create science fair projects and science fair experiments based on the scientific method. Includes Steps of a Science Fair Project/ The Scientific Method/ Science Defined/ Judging Sheet Examples

California State Science Fair
Official website of the California State Science Fair

Other Science Fairs on the Web
A list of websites for local, state, regional national and international science fairs as well as a list of virtual science fairs exclusive to the web.

I judged a local science fair a couple of years back. The winner was a student who studied crows over the course of several years. He had a fascinating project related to crows' communication system and their different calls. He was featured in the local press and continued on to a regional science fair, but I don't know how he did.
My first year of chemistry (in 9th grade), I did a project on fireworks. I flame-tested some metals to see where the different colors come from, learned how to make gunpowder (my chemistry teacher was very tolerant/brave), etc. The project was fun, if not particularly original.

Sometimes I wish there were organized science fairs for us adults who like to dabble in science. They're still fun to particpate in no matter how old you are.

You might check with the local chapter of the American Chemical Society--they typically plan public demos/etc. around National Chemistry Week (Oct 19 - 25). They would probably be interested in anything (e.g. community science fairs) that would enhance the public image of chemistry/science.
Try http://center.acs.org/applications/lslookup/locate.cfm