Science Fair Ideas for 5th Graders

They say that curiosity killed the cat! But not in this case, where we are talking about science and its umpteen miracles and amazement! Moreover in case of science, the more curious children are and if that quest for 'knowing' is nurtured at an early age, then they can develop an avid interest in the whole gamut of specializations under science.

Schools do their bit by trying to create that awareness and interest in children in the form of science fairs. The thinking process starts from conceptualizing the project idea itself.

Ideas for 5th Grade Science Fair Project

These projects could be sometimes tricky, as you have to combine slightly challenging aspects with things to which 5th grade students can relate to. These students are on the threshold of growing up, however, they still have to reach that stage where their logic related faculties are yet to develop. Here are some ideas for fifth standard students.

Project #1
Things which the kids are used to seeing and using daily can strike a cord with them and will help them understand things better. So something like a driveway, sidewalk can be incorporated in the project. The first idea therefore is to see how changes in the sidewalk can have an impact on the driving condition. The kids will need a matchbox car or even a barbie car would do for simulating the car drive.

Other things required would be sandpaper, a quilt, rocks, water, a flat surface and foil. The children will first have to see how the car moves on a smooth surface provided by the foil. Then, see what happens when quilt and sandpaper is used. Check out what happens when you have rocks on the flat surface. Recording of the results is necessary in this and all other projects.

Project #2
Heat and evaporation is another great project. Yes, it is a bit cliched, but for students at that age it can be very interesting. For this experiment a couple of electric bulbs (of different wattage) and a couple of dishes filled with water would be needed. The aim is to see which bulb evaporates the water first. That in scientific terms would mean how kinetic energy of heat moves the water molecules faster and causes evaporation. The findings of these experiments have to be systematically recorded and can presented in the forms of charts, graphs, photographs or even videos.

Project #3
Well, the name of this idea might sound a bit weird, but it is as interesting as its name. It is called Thigmotropism. It refers to an organism's response to a stimuli, specifically a touch. In this experiment a plant can be observed. A plant which closes its leaves after an insect lands on it is Venus Fly Trap.

Now what the children can do is place the eraser end of the pencil in its trap. Once the trap closes, get the pencil out and record the time on the clock. Check out how long does it take for the plant to realize it was prompted by a wrong stimuli.

Project #4
Another good option is to see the effect of salt on boiling water. The aim is to prove that adding salt to water leads water to boil at higher temperatures. The things required would be table salt, distilled water, 2 quart cooking pot, measuring cup, measuring spoons and thermometer.

You can try some more like tornado in bottle, durability of a battery, growth of beans, the best place to store apples? Where is the best place to store bananas? Are they the same? Is it possible to sip the same amount of liquid through two straws at once as one straw? What about 3 straws?

All in all, it is all a matter of combining work or rather learning in a playful manner. Anything which helps the children learn and understand a scientific process in an out of the box manner is great!