Discovering Physics with Science Fair Projects
The subject that unravels everything about the universe that we have to know, and the idea that we base our entire motion upon. From rolling a marble, to sending rockets to mars, to predicting newly discovered elements on the periodic table, physics has always been a major factor in how humans as a whole can invent new machinery and turn towards the future. To gain interest in these matters, there must be a way to boost the curiosity and motivation of human beings to indulge in the world of physics, to discover more and more to contribute to the planet. One of these forms are physics science Fair projects
What is a Physics Science Fair Project?
Science projects have always been a way to gain the interest of students because they let the students choose a specific idea, or topic, related to the topic, and are able to experiment or work on the project in their own unique way, which allows a sense of freedom to do what they want with it.
This also applies to physics projects, since a majority of them are based upon models or experiments that show an aspect of our world and are within the boundaries of specifically physics. Fortunately, this boundary is huge, and students are able to lay the foundation of their projects ranging from a model of the laws of motion to research about electromagnetism. Students develop a self-interest through researching their topic, and begin to ask questions and find the answers for them, which has them learn about it through the process. These projects can also simulate the orbits of moons far away, or how long it takes specific fruits to rot, or how charging a phone with a potato would work.
What are the different categories I can work on?
Well you can work on whatever you want as long as it is related to physics. However, there are three different types of science fair projects. These consist of experimental projects, research projects, and demonstration projects.
Experimental projects are more for public experience, where viewers can gain hands-on experience with the items presented to them. They can test rolling a marble down a series of tunnels and slides, which gains the interest of especially children, and allows them to gain a basic understanding of the concept. This is, however, not suggested for the experiments that require more mixing of different substances, since the audience is expected to have no basic knowledge of the project beforehand.
Research projects are based upon data and just literal research, consisting of graphs and tables and pictures, and less of the models or demonstrations. It lets the students explain to the public their research and why it is correct, instead of showing a model and wasted resources if the audience does not understand through those. The main issue with this is that some people may not understand the research just based upon the data, and would lead to no results at all.
Demonstration projects are probably the most popular and most impactful out of the three. It is a combination of both research and experimental projects, as it lets the audience see a model of the project, and the students can explain from there, with the audience's knowledge gained from the previous experiment, to tell them how their projects did what they did.
What Does This Do For Me?
Partaking in these science fair projects has multiple benefits. Students are exposed to the STEM career, and it allows multiple paths for them for their future, and more opportunities. It also allows students to find what interests them through these projects to focus more on these specific career paths. For example: If you do a project based on rocketry, you may want to study astrodynamics. On top of that, most of these science fair projects allow students to win certain awards, such as scholarships, based on what their project was based upon and their popularity.
It also benefits society as well. Locals who know nothing about the topic of your project end up learning way more just from visiting it. They may even gain a heavy interest in the idea and start studying it as well, which adds more research into that field and more development.
What should I NOT do or allow?
There are multiple safety precautions, many of which are along the same guidelines as your normal school lab. Do not touch electrical appliances with wet hands, do not leave gloves around door knobs or anywhere else hands would touch, etc. The most important ones out of this include always wearing safety goggles, especially for the audience (unless they are a safe distance away), as their safety is your responsibility. Another one is do NOT let any food be near your project or experiment! Certain chemicals may fall into or seep into food or drink, and may cause illnesses for anyone. Kindly ask anyone who has food or drink to throw them out or eat at a safer location.
Science fair projects serve as the doorway into physics. They grant students the freedom to choose their topics, be it modeling laws of motion or explaining rocketry, it grows curiosity and stimulates a self-guided discovery.
With experimental, research, and demonstration projects, students can release their creativity however they want in whatever form. Experiments that let the audience engage with hands-on experiences, research that dives deep into data, and demonstrations combining both, making detailed concepts more understandable. These projects not only start self-growth and potential STEM careers, but also share knowledge with the public and spark interest in the young and old, enlightening others about the wonders of physics.
About Inspirit AI
AI Scholars Live Online is a 10 session (25-hour) program that exposes high school students to fundamental AI concepts and guides them to build a socially impactful project. Taught by our team of graduate students from Stanford, MIT, and more, students receive a personalized learning experience in small groups with a student-teacher ratio of 5:1.
