1. A science fair project is not about building something. It is about learning something!

2. There is a problem with all of the projects in the books and on the Internet: they have already been done.

3. Get a notebook. Pick as a topic something that YOU think is interesting. Think of something about that topic that you do not know and that you do not think is generally known. Write it down. [NOTE: Scientists date their pages, and they use ink, not pencil. If something is wrong, they cross it out with a single line so it can still be read. Never erase or use white-out. ] Example of topic: Why do cattle in a field often face in the same direction?

4. Attempt to find out about your topic by looking at textbooks, reference books, and the Internet. Write down or print out what you find. Remember to list where they come from. If the answer is well-known, either choose a less known topic or try to show that conventional knowledge is wrong.

5. Form a hypothesis. That is, guess what you think the answer to your project will be. Write this down also. Do this before you do anything else. Judges don’t mind if you make an incorrect hypothesis, but they regard writing the hypothesis after you finish testing as cheating!! Example: The cattle face away from the sun.

6. Make a list of alternate hypotheses in your notebook. Define an experiment that you could run to confirm (or deny) your hypothesis. If an alternate hypothesis would also explain your result, define a different experiment to confirm (or deny) the alternate hypothesis. Write down your experimental test plan. Example: Alternate hypotheses: (a) Cattle face toward the sun. (b) One steer is the leader. The other cattle point in that leader’s direction. (c) Cattle face the wind. (d) Cattle face away from the wind. (e) Cattle face away from the barn in the morning, but toward the barn in the evening. And so on and so on. Test Plan: Photograph the cattle on a day when the sun’s direction is indicated by shadows. Do this on several days when other conditions are present. Do the cattle always face away from or toward the sun? Do the cattle face in the same direction on days when the sun is obscured by clouds. Do they face in the same direction after dark. Take photos in the first case; take notes after dark. To test the “leader” hypothesis, turn the most likely leader. Do the other cattle turn, too? If not, try another potential leader. To test the wind hypothesis, determine wind direction from a weather vane. Do cattle point in the wind vane’s direction? In the opposite direction? What if there is no wind? And so on and so on.

7. Repeat your experiments. The result of a single experiment may be chance. A result is likely if the experiment is repeated several times with the same result. Head each page with the test being performed and write down the result. Write down other things that might or might not be important, such as time of day, temperature, weather, barn location, location of water, location of food…

8. Write your conclusion in your notebook. It should answer the objective of the experiment and your hypothesis. Example: The direction in which cattle face is not determined by the sun.

9. Discuss your results in our notebook. Explain what you think causes cattle to face in the same direction and support it by the results of your experiment.

10. Prepare your display. It should be neat and organized, but it is not necessary to spend a great deal of money or to do everything on a computer. If you have photographs, display them. The purpose of the experiment, your hypothesis, and the result of your experiment should be displayed prominently. Also display your notebook prominently, and make sure the judges see it and look through it. Do not recopy your notebook so that it looks neat. Rather, it should appear that you have been writing in it for some time.

Have fun! Remember, choose a subject that interests YOU. It isn’t apt to be cattle.

i don’t really remember what projects i did in 7th