Who said that science experiments had to be done in labs? You can have your own set of experiments in the kitchen. I know that I can cook potatoes faster if I mix them with some aborigines. I don’t know why, but something about the two vegetables being cooked together tends to speed up the cooking time needed.

Here are a few ideas that you can try out.  Does adding salt to water make it boil faster than the plain water? Try boiling water in two pans and add a spoonful of salt to one of them. Now time them both as the water comes to a boil and check which one boiled faster.

You can even use some fruit in the kitchen to generate electricity. Get some alligator clips and hook them up to copper and zinc electrodes. Add a miniature light bulb to complete the circuit and you will have a bright science project. Use different types of citrus fruits to see which ones generate the power longest.

There is no dearth of experiments for you to perform in the kitchen. And why restrict yourself to science experiments in the kitchen alone? You can get any number of fun projects to do here. Check them out and get started right away.

Remember the science fiction freeze gun which makes the person incapable of moving? Thanks to some science experiments being conducted by researchers these may no longer be fiction very long. The use of electrical impulses by scientists has succeeded in affecting the brains of participants in the experiment by slowing down their physical actions.

Sound familiar? Yes indeed it is possible to affect the actions of a person as Alek Pogosyan of the University College London has proved. The research is actually in aid of developing treatments for those suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Also the activities of the people did not diminish all together like in the science fictions movies.

The activities merely slowed down by about 10 per cent. In Parkinson’s disease the beta activity of the neurons gets accelerated considerably. And before a normal person makes a voluntary movement this same beta activity of the brain drops considerably. By using electrical stimulation the scientists increased the beta activity in the participants of the study.

This made them slow down their physical movements.  Maybe the gun to freeze all movements may not become a reality any time soon, but this study has proved that it is a distinct possibility. Try out other interesting science projects here.

Have you ever considered how much preparation goes into any mission planned to go into space? The number of science projects and science experiments that have been conducted on every single piece of equipment that will be used? It is an industry where the smallest error can make the difference between life and death.

A malfunctioning bulb can actually kill you in outer space. That is why everything has to be perfect. This is not a place where you can sit back and say 80% is good enough. If it is not 100% good it can not be used. That is why you find most people checking and rechecking every fact that they can before any rocket launch.

It is also a place where constant innovation and improvements are needed. To find a better way to do something in a shorter time and more efficiently is a constant ongoing effort. That is why even you high school science project could help a rocket scientist team.

Of course the original project may need some working on, but you will get credit for the original idea. So if you want to really make a mark with your science project you can think of super specializing in the field that will help the next mission going in to space. Consider some part that can be improved and get to work on it.

The idea of making a science project based on huge rocks slamming into planets and leaving craters is exciting and scary from a child’s perspective. To explain how and why the craters are formed you can touch on concepts of atmosphere, gravity and vacuum of space.

To simplify the concepts for elementary school kids try to make your own craters in dough and flour.  Get a big baking pan and keep a mixing bowl handy. Also collect a number of things to make craters with. Get all sizes and shapes possible. Ping pong balls, golf balls, and even a tennis ball will do.  And of course get some flour and water to mix up the dough.

Now get set to make your own landscape. Get the baking pan out and add some dry flour to it in soft peaks. Make a basic landscape full of many rising “mountains”. Now get those balls out. Check out what kinds of craters they make in half the baking pan area. Compare shapes and depths of all the different objects.

Now mix up some flour with water and add that dough to the other half of the baking pan. Try and make craters in this part too. See how the same shapes make different sized craters in the dough. Try and explain the concept of density to them as well. Then you can graduate to more complex science projects.

The equipment and dress of the astronauts will come next. Talk about the kind of fibers that are used in such cases. How they can resist water and fire to some extent. If possible get some raincoats and pour water on them to demonstrate the water proof effect.

Getting kids excited about space is almost like an investment in the future of the planet. Just let them know a few facts while they have a whole lot of fun.

There is much more to the universe than the earth on which we live. Yet since we live on the earth it is of far greater interest to us than any other part of the universe. So why not set your science project on phenomena which is observed on the earth?

What are the naturally occurring phenomena that are of interest to us? How about the comets? We know a lot more about comets now than we did before.  Well at least we don’t think of comets as shadows of death and destruction to come any more, unlike they did in ancient times. In fact it may be possible to make your own comet as a science project.

Sounds too messy? Well how about another frequently observed natural phenomena the eclipse. Be it a making a pin drop camera to view the solar eclipse or staying up half the night staring at the moon to see the lunar eclipse, they are fascinating.  How about making more practical use of the information you can gather with viewing an eclipse? Use eclipses to calculate the distance of the sun and the moon from the earth.

Sounds too high blown? De-stress by making some slime! Okay I know that’s totally unrelated, but I’m sure it will be fun! Just try it out.

Mapping the different phases of the moon will make an interesting science fair project. In fact you can make a working model with a bulb powered sun and a highly reflective surfaced moon in the science project model. Think of the basic solar system model and draw inspiration for the design. You can always rework some elements as you go.

You can restrict the model to merely the sun, the moon and the earth to simplify it.  You can follow the phases of the moon from Full Moon to 3 Quarters to Crescent to New Moon with the help of diagrams. Make the rotation of your celestial bodies possible with a powered motor to make it more impressive.

Or just use your hands to move the spheres around to get the lighting on the moon to reflect all the phases from the sun. Use the lower portion of the model for the Earth. Have the sun fixed in a specific position and allow the moon to rotate around the sky region of your model.

And if all that sounds way too much effort to do, just go and blow up a volcano! After all you are supposed to have fun too. Maybe after you have done a simple project and done it well, you may feel challenged to do something even better. That’s when you can begin work on more complicated science fair projects.

What is the purpose of space travel? Is it to see the universe? Is it a science project that is challenging? Is it to discover a new world where we can live if something happens to our planet? Is it to discover if we are really alone in the universe? I suppose it is a little bit of all this and more.

Man has always been curious about just how vast the universe is and also about his place in the universe. Are we just an insignificant speck in the universe? One which has no importance at all in the vast scope of things? Or are we indeed very special beings?

Are we the only living creatures in this universe capable of space travel? Or are there others who are also capable of inter galactic voyages and have come to visit us? This is what fuels our science fiction industry, be it in books and comics or in multimillion dollar movies.

We need proof and that is why we are so fascinated with leaving the planet. It is actually a lot like a treasure hunt game and the stakes are really high. That is why the ultimate proof will be visual evidence seen by man.  Seeing is believing and if that’s how you view the world you might be interested in checking this article out.

If you feel that the Solar System is too simple or just plain boring to make your science fair model, how about trying one on the life cycle of a star. You could chronicle the various stages in the birth and life of a star and make related models for them as part of your science project.

You could talk about the different processes that are in action as the star goes from protostar to a white dwarf.  In the display you could use the information about the different types of stars recorded and give images for them. You could even explain the inner mechanisms of the star by giving the chemical processes that take place within the star.

Explain how the interstellar dust becomes a twinkling star. You could even do an in-depth analysis of our own Star, the Sun.  Maybe elevate fears of the sun dying on us as well. You can talk about why stars appear to twinkle when seen from the earth, but do not twinkle when you are out in space. The stars can give you enough material to make a number of science projects many times over.

It is up to your to choose what you wish to base your project on. There is great scope for Topic Research in this field and you can get help with organizing your research if you follow the link. Go from gazing at the stars to explaining how they work.

Your model is made, you are ready with your display board and your science fair report is written. So what else is left for you to do? You need to now work on your presentation skills for showcasing your model to the judges at the science fair. Just remember it is a competition and the only way to win is to take active part in the game.

Start with the script. Don’t think that you can ad lib it when you see the judges. A good written script will allow you the freedom to work on your expressions once you have the words down pat. Try this paragraph from the BBC’s Science and Nature website for a conversation starter.

“Our Solar System began forming about 4.6 billion years ago from a swirling gas cloud. Over time, the gas cooled and clumped together to form large bodies called ‘protoplanets’. The ‘left over’ material became comets, roaming silently through the Solar System.”

Doesn’t this sound much better than anything that you can come up with on the spur of the moment. Now get down to writing a script which will take you about a minute and a half to speak out. Not more than that as it will become too long. Stick to the important bits and be prepared for any questions that may follow from your presentation script.

If you need more tips to spruce up your presentation skills take a look here. The trick to being confident during the presentation is knowing all your facts well. After that it is easier to answer questions thrown at you from the judges and your confidence will shine through in your answers.