12 year olds science project

[P B G]

I helped run a few science shows while I was in college as part of a program I was involved in.

The instructors always wanted to make sure that the project would have something for the presenter to put together a project that had results. So they frowned upon projects like - build a catapult - but would be perfectly content with a project where parameters of the catapult were tested - such as catapults with variable release timing, or release angle, or spring tension.

Otherwise you got kids who liked to build catapults making a catapult. And kids who knew how something worked doing a presentation that did not have, hypothesis, test apparatus, protocol, results, conclusions, discussion. And that's want they want these things to become.

[chambersc]

Well, tomorrow is the day of reckoning for the plant project. He finished it up last night and I thought he did a very good job. His notes were good and we had three photos he printed and we laminated of the plants in process.

His hypothesis, data, conclusion, etc were all solid and after we discussed the one thing in the four liquids that only one had (carbon dioxide) he did a very good job of writing it up in his conclusion why he felt that one grew fastest. May or may not be correct, but he put HIS thought into it and wrote up why he thought that.

So, its ready to take to school tomorrow and in the mean time, we're going dirt bike riding this afternoon!

[chambersc]

He got to take a little post science project aggression out today on the dirt.

[Little Bike]

Looks like success was had all the way around. I'm a science teacher so I totally get the adults getting more excited about doing the project than their kids . Before my district decided they were too dangerous we would build trebuchets. Back to school night got to be pretty funny when all the fathers started asking when we were going to do the trebuchet project

In a traditional science fair you're supposed to have your question, hypothesis etc so I get where his teacher was coming from, but I wouldn't have just given him a project. There should have been something she could have steered him towards that still had to do with bikes and he could have come up with his own question based on his own experiences. Looks like he did finally get into the plant experiment though and had the experience of setting up controls, etc.

Some schools are now giving the kids the option of a traditional science fair or an engineering project. While the carb model still doesn't fit in other one I like the options for the kids. Sounds like you two are going to have some great experiences cutting apart a carb and him learning to work on bikes. Have fun!