The science fair is coming and your child has yet to choose a science fair project. Do you choose it for her? Should you print out a bunch of articles for her to look at? Is it okay to just add a little color to her poster?
These questions and more plague parents during science fair season. Here are some tips for parents to help you figure out the do’s and don’ts of how much and what kind of help you should provide with the science fair project.
Science Fair Project Tips for Parents
Do: Discuss project ideas with your child. Pose questions such as “I wonder why...” or “What do you think would happen...” to help your child understand what a project needs to address.
Don’t: Choose a science fair project for your child, even if he seems to be having trouble deciding upon one. If he’s not totally invested in the project, it’s going to be a long haul. On the other hand, if he’s very excited about the idea, he’ll be motivated to complete the project.
Do: Bring your child to the library for research materials and help her find appropriate websites and keywords for safe Internet research.
Don’t: Find books, print articles or otherwise do the research for her. She needs to learn how to do it on her own and face the rewards or consequences of a job well or poorly done.
Do: Help your child outline the time frame for completing his project.
Don’t: Tell your child what part of the project he needs to complete and when. He may needs some help figuring out what needs to be accomplished and help budgeting his time, but in the end it’s his responsibility to figure out what’s manageable for him.
Do: Ask your child to explain how her hypothesis relates to the experiment she has proposed. Basically, you’re checking to make sure she’s on the right track and has chosen an experiment that will answer the question.
Don’t: Write the hypothesis and create an experiment. The key here is to be a guide, not an active participant.
Do: Shop with your child and help gather materials for his experiment.making sure he’s not using dangerous chemicals or proposing to do anything unsafe.
Don’t: Allow your child to conduct an experiment using dangerous chemicals or which proposes to do anything unsafe, no matter how excited he is about the idea.
Do: Monitor your child’s efforts to do his experiment and encourage him to take careful notes of the procedure and outcome.
Don’t: Do the experiment or give your child step-by-step instructions.
Do: Provide feedback, both positive and negative, helping your child discover what went right and wrong by asking questions like “What happened when..” or “What do think made ____ happen?”
Don’t: Yell, scream or belittle your child’s efforts. Making mistakes is all part of the process and provide opportunities to learn.
Do: Ask your child to show you how she has recorded and analyzed her data.
Don’t: Create the graph or spreadsheet for your child or announce the conclusion before she has discovered it herself.
Do: Be your child’s audience as he works out what his presentation will look and sound like.
Don’t: Write the presentation for him or create his visual aids, no matter what you see before you. It’s okay to provide constructive criticism if you think something isn’t working, just make sure to provide suggestions for alternatives as well.
Do: Express your pride in your child, letting her know it’s her efforts and stamina which you admire and attend the science fair to support her.
Don’t: Place a lot of value on winning a prize at the fair. There will be many well done projects, only a few of which can win prizes.