Science Project Strategies

Maureen Mason Youth & Teen Librarian

Kelli Staley Information Technology Specialist

Lansing Public Library

2

Science Projects…

Teach you to manage time over a longer assignment.

Teach you research skills when finding your information.

Teach you to keep organized records of your experiment.

Teach you critical thinking skills.

3

Our Plan

Finding a topicResearching your topic

– Encyclopedias & Reference Books– Non-fiction books– Online Resources

Searching our catalogFinding articles

4

A Galaxy of Ideas…Where Do You Start?

Books Magazines Websites

5

Books to Give You Ideas

Science Fair collection Science Experiments

binders

6

Magazines to give you ideas

Discover Discovery Kids Mother Earth News Popular Science Science Science News

7

http://www.lansing.lib.il.us/scienceproject.html

8

http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/scifairstudio/ideas.html

9

http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/projectguide/

10

Using Project Idea Websites

Can give you lots of ideas for your project.

Can help you decide what interests you.Remember, a good idea may still be

difficult to research, depending on equipment needed, or time required.

11

Ways to find a science fair project idea #1

Look at the different science categories and pick one you are interested in.

Next, narrow it to a specific project. If you are interested in recycling, try a project about composting in backyard gardens!

12

Ways to find a science fair project idea #2

Use your experiences Remember a time you noticed something and thought "I wonder how that works?" or "I wonder what would happen if..." then turn that into a project.

13

Ways to find a science fair project idea #3

Think about current events. Look at the newspaper. People are hungry in Africa because of droughts - a project on growing plants without much rain, which types grow ok with little water? Or the ozone hole over Antarctica - how can we reduce ozone? -a project on nonaerosol ways to spray things. Or oil spills. how can we clean them up? -a project on how to clean oil out of water.

14

Keep it specific!

Make sure your project is well defined.

Pick a project that is age appropriate.

Pick a project that you can accomplish.

Make sure you have enough time to complete your project!

15

Sample Topics

Idea:– What freezes faster, water or juice?

Better Idea:– What freezes faster, water or orange juice?

16

Sample Topics

Idea:– Do plants grow if you feed them?

Better Idea:– Do plants grow if you feed them sugar, or salt?

17

Sample Topics

Idea:– What makes mold grow?

Better Idea:– What makes mold grow on bread?

18

Sample Topics

Idea:– Solar panels

Better Idea:– Solar panels: are they efficient, and why?

19

Sample Topics

Idea:– Batteries

Better Idea:– Build a battery.

20

Sample Topics

Idea:– Transporting electrical currents.

Better Idea:– Transporting electrical currents through

vegetables.

21

Scientific Method

Purpose: What am I trying to discover or prove? Research. Hypothesis: What do you think will happen? Procedure: How will I do this?

Your steps of an experiment. Results: What your experiment showed.

Organize your data into charts or graphs. Conclusion: Evaluate results into a summary.

It’s OK if your hypothesis was wrong if your results prove your experiment.

22

Research-Searching for Information on Your Topic

Sometimes, terms are obvious– For plants, you can look at how they grow

Often search terms require critical thinking– For solar panels, look up sunlight and energy

as well.

23

Let’s Get Started!

Remember:

Take it one step at a time!

Don’t get too far ahead of yourself!

24

How to get started…an example

Project topic:Why do nails rust in water?

25

Specify Your Topic

Define the topic:– Why does an iron nail rust in water?– Why does an iron nail rust in salt water?– Does an iron nail rust faster in a 25% salt water

solution or a 50% salt water solution?– Does an iron nail rust faster in ice water, 60

degree water, 100 degree water, or boiling water?

26

Check the Dictionary!

Rust (noun) 1. Any of various reddish-brown oxides formed on iron and iron containing materials by low-temperature oxidation in the presence of water. 2. Any of various metallic coatings formed by corrosion.

27

Decide on Your Search Terms

WaterIronChemical interactionCorrosionOxidationRust

28

Background Reading

Explore the library resources to find information on the general concept that your science project investigates.

29

Beginning Your Research

30

Rust

31

Oxidation

32

Dewey Decimal System:How the library is organized

Science materials have call numbers in the 500s-600s.

General Science 500Chemistry 540Botany (plants) 581Biology 574

33

Reference Collection

34

General Collection

35

Lansing Library Catalog

36

Sorting & Limiting

37

SWAN

38

SWAN

39

SWAN

40

SWAN

41

EBSCO

42

EBSCO

43

EBSCO

44

Internet Research

45

Can’t trust everything on the internet

46

Trusted Websites

Lansing Public Library– www.lansing.lib.il.us

Illinois Clicks!– www.illinoisclicks.org

Internet Public Library– www.ipl.org

Librarians’ Internet Index– www.lii.org

47

Lansing Library Website

48

Illinois Clicks!

49

Internet Public Library

50

Librarian’s Internet Index

51

Wikis: Collaborative Websites

A wiki is a group of Web pages that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows others (often completely unrestricted) to edit the content.

52

Wikis: Edited by a wookie?

Caution!It may contain unreliable, unverified information, and may not be the best source for information.

Image: http://swg.stratics.com/content/lore/personas/images/chewbacca.gif

53

Wikipediawww.wikipedia.org

54

5 Tips for Success

Start as soon as your teacher assigns a project.

Don’t wait until the last minute. Plan ahead. Ask Librarians if you need help finding

information. HAVE FUN!

Thank you for coming!

Youth & Teen Services staff are waiting to help you get started on your research!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.