by Alex Scheeline
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, on the national mall in Washington, D.C., has an especially fascinating exhibit on Thomas Edison. The exhibit highlights the development of electricity and lighting, and, more generally, invention. In late 2017, I visited an area that featured a set of lamps—including a low-pressure sodium vapor lamp, a mercury lamp, an incandescent lamp, and a compact fluorescent lamp.
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College level, experiments, High School level, Middle School level, Physics, science fair, STEM | Tagged: color, diffraction, DIY, experiments, hands-on science, light, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, physics demonstration apparatus, science, science fair project, spectra, spectrascope, STEM, ultraviolet | 
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
You might be surprised how much news there is about the ubiquitous science fair! We have collected a few worthy articles for you. Some are funny, others are provocative—and they’re all worth a look.
If you come across an article of interest, please share it with us in the Comments section below.
Happy reading!
Leave a Comment » | College level, Elementary level, experiments, High School level, Middle School level, science fair | Tagged: awesome science experiment, discrepant event, DIY, Educational Innovations, experiments, fun experiments, hands-on activity, homeschool, homeschool activity, parent friendly, PBL, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, science, science fair project, STEM, variables | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
Why are science fairs important? What makes the science fair process valuable? It’s an excellent question and a good way to start a class discussion about this time-honored tradition. First and foremost, why DO we ask our students to work on a science fair project year after year? The answer, in a nutshell, is to help them learn how to think like scientists. Scientists find answers to questions that interest them. In other words, your students simply need to ask themselves, What do I want to know more about?
Leave a Comment » | College level, Elementary level, High School level, Middle School level, science fair | Tagged: agriculture, awesome science experiment, discrepant event, DIY, Educational Innovations, environmental science, experiments, food science, fun experiments, hands-on activity, homeschool, homeschool activity, materials science, parent friendly, PBL, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, science, science fair project, science fair project for kids, STEM, topics for science fair, variables | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
What is the scientific method? It’s one of the stepping stones your students need to cover before starting any science fair project.
As this helpful primer from Science Buddies states, “Whether you are doing a science fair project, a classroom science activity, independent research, or any other hands-on science inquiry, understanding the steps of the scientific method will help you focus your scientific question and work through your observations and data to answer the question as well as possible.”
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
Whether you’re a science teacher, a parent, or just a science buff, you probably know plenty about how rewarding—and stressful—a science fair can be. If you’re looking for the best way to communicate with your students about the steps involved in developing a science project, we’ve got you covered. Each of the videos below explains how to plan and execute a great science fair presentation.
Enjoy! If you find a video on science fairs that you’d like to share with us, please leave a comment!
Leave a Comment » | College level, Elementary level, High School level, Middle School level, science fair | Tagged: awesome science experiment, discrepant event, DIY, Educational Innovations, experiments, fun experiments, hands-on activity, homeschool, homeschool activity, parent friendly, PBL, phenomenon based learning, phenomenon-based science, science fair project, STEM, variables | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
