Conducting an Experiment

for the Science Fair

Basic Project Timeline

Register for the GPHSF.
September: Choose a general topic.
September - October: Do some preliminary research.
November: Choose a question and write a hypothesis.
November - January: Conduct your experiment.
January - February: Write your project report.
February: Prepare your exhibit.
February 15: Attend the Science Fair!

This is a rough guideline only. You may begin experimenting at any time in 2024.

If your project deals with any living things (plants, animals, microbes, etc.), you

should start early, as these experiments are always unpredictable!

Choosing a Topic

There are many topics to choose from, and countless experiments to perform;

how do you choose one? Consider the following questions:

What topics are you studying for science this year?

What interests the student?

What is possible and affordable?

Students do not need to come up with an original idea; they can even choose

an experiment from a book (as long as it is an experiment and not a demonstration).

While most projects are considered General Science Projects, some are

engineering or computer projects, which are judged according to different criteria.

Click here for descriptions of science fair categories.

Preliminary Research

Because this will help you understand and predict what will happen during your experiment, even young students should do at least some research.

Question & Hypothesis

Once you know a little more about your topic, you can ask a question in the form of, "What would happen if I changed this?" Your hypothesis is your prediction of what the answer will be.

Registering for the GPHSF

Click here to register online. You should register before you begin your experiment, but no later than January 15, 2025.

Conducting Your Experiment

All project work must be done at home under parental supervision or at an

institutional site under the direction of a qualified scientist. Students must do their

own projects. (Parents should never do the project for the child! Remember that

each child will be judged on his or her knowledge of the subject.) More...

All experiments should follow a scientific method, the systematic method

scientists use to conduct experiments. Even Kindergartners can follow a scientific

method. The important thing is that students choose an experiment in which

something can be measured.

Click here for specific details about scientific methods.

The basics are:

Ask a Question. Choose a question that can be answered by observation and measurement.
Form a Hypothesis. A hypothesis is an educated guess about what will happen.
Conduct Your Experiment. Write out your procedures and follow them closely. Be sure to have controls and only one variable at a time. Measure using the metric system. Repeat the experiment to validate your results.
Present Your Results. Your results are the measurements and observations you made during experimentation, often presented in a table or graph.
Discuss Your Results. Explain your results -- why did things happen the way they did?
Draw Conclusions. Answer your original question and state whether your hypothesis was correct. Does this have applications to everyday life?