5 Tips for Surviving Science Fair

Recently, my elementary-aged daughters brought a packet home from school announcing the next big event. I looked at the papers, and—like Bandit groaning when Bluey and Bingo demand yet another rambunctious game—I moaned, “Not science fair!”

Like many parents, the yearly science fair is a dreaded event. I always feel inadequate to help since I’m not a STEM person. I’m more of a humanities type. As the projects unfold and due dates approach, stress builds until what should be a learning opportunity becomes another chore to endure.

Over the last few years, however, I’ve developed five strategies that help make science fair less stressful and more meaningful, especially for parents, like me, who doubt their science skills.

1. Help Your Child Get Started

Kids tend to procrastinate starting big jobs like a science fair project. But an early start is vital. And motivation is key. You’ll probably need to gather supplies—those tri-fold poster boards grow scarce quickly, and you don’t want to fight another frazzled parent for the last one.

Making a schedule with your child will help get the project started right. There’s no set length to science fair season—I’ve heard tell that some schools stretch the project out for months (ouch!)—but just as an example, let’s assume there’s a month between the first packet arriving and the date of the big show. A schedule might look like this:

• Week 1: Choose a topic and gather materials
• Week 2: Perform the experiment and gather data
• Week 3: Assemble the poster
• Week 4: Extra time for things to go wrong or take longer than expected

Of course, you can expand or contract the schedule according to the time available, but that cushion time is crucial. Kids get sick. You can’t find one critical material at the local Walmart and need to order it instead. A curious little brother wants to do science, too, and your child, through tears, must redo part of her work. Stress comes from a looming deadline, so the more extra time you build in, the better. And motivation is key. 

2. Help Your Child Choose Wisely

Besides building a schedule, choosing a project early and wisely is also crucial. Kids gravitate toward cool ideas, things that will impress friends and win attention at the fair. You don’t need to be so cynical as to say the best science fair project is a finished science fair project, but practicality should be a priority!

One strategy I use is to focus on science as a methodology; that is, forming a hypothesis, gathering data to test it, and drawing conclusions. Science is also a body of knowledge (about biology, geology, physics, chemistry and others), and in-depth scientific knowledge can definitely help students create impressive results. But anyone can follow the methodology; a student just needs something to test. 

For example, this year, my older daughter was excited to do a project on making slime. I was less enthused. But rather than telling her no, I reframed the task as about gathering data. I asked her what she could do to observe something about the slime. She decided to test the stretchiness of different kinds of slime (which we could buy at the store, not make) by dropping them from a uniform height and timing how long they took to reach the floor. She made her cool idea into an experiment, and we didn’t have to cook up any slime in the kitchen.

The internet is full of resources for choosing science fair experiments. My favorite is Science Buddies, recommended by a teacher. It features hundreds of ideas, sortable by topic, grade level, and time available. There is also Science Fair Central, also well organized, and the science fair section of Education.com. If you get stuck, try searching for videos of the experiment on YouTube. Somehow, YouTubers always get the experiment to work perfectly. 

3. Know When to Help and When to Observe

This can be hard for many parents. My daughters are in third and fifth grades, so they still want me involved. Yet, encouraging their independence is also important. They attend a Montessori school where the goal, as Maria Montessori put it, is for students to say, “help me to do it by myself.” When my older girl was noticeably more eager to work on her own this year than in the past, I backed off and only helped when she asked.

There’s a fine line between being helpful and being overbearing, and it’s important to stay on the right side of it. Afterall, too much parental involvement in homework can inhibit learning and create more stress. Be on the lookout for signs that a student’s resistance to doing their project might be a call for more independence. 

4. If Frustrations Arise, Acknowledge Feelings and Make a Plan

A counselor gave me this idea. When kids—or adults—have negative feelings, they usually want to first have their discomfort heard and seen by others. Solutions to problems come second. For parents, it’s tempting to jump right to the solution, but that will likely escalate tensions.

For example, if the project isn’t working as planned, admit that it’s frustrating—all that hard work!—but brainstorm together ways to modify the project rather than start from scratch. This year, my younger daughter wanted to do the same project her sister did last year, on how different additives can make bubbles stronger than plain soap. Despite using the same ingredients and following the same procedure, however, every bubble burst immediately. 

She really wanted to do something with bubbles, so we figured out a different angle: testing whether different kinds of surfaces affect how long bubbles last on contact. It turns out, the surface doesn’t matter, and they all burst on contact, but she was able to collect data and answer a question. An experiment doesn’t have to “work” to be viable.

5. Remember to Learn Together

Science fair is about doing what scientists do: asking questions, building research skills, and solving problems. It may also increase interest in a STEM career.

But science fairs also help build other skills that aren’t specific to science, such as planning and making a schedule, perseverance, managing emotions in the face of adversity, learning when to ask for help, and when to take on a challenge on your own. 

At my daughters’ school, the kids stand with their display boards and tell parents and classmates about their projects, so they get experience with public speaking and interacting with other people. My third grader is very shy. It takes a lot for her to stand with her board. Even if she doesn’t talk much to all the unfamiliar people, I’m proud of her for trying.

Science isn’t everyone’s favorite, and that’s fine to admit. But our attitude as parents about the project matters and can affect our children’s response, so approaching it as a positive learning experience is key.

Over time, I’ve come to embrace the process of completing a project, and I’ve learned not to worry about the science. The tri-fold boards will go in the garbage, and my kids will forget all the details anyway. What I hope stays, however, are the skills and the satisfaction of completing a project. Most importantly, I hope they enjoy the time we spend together, dad and daughters, and the feeling of pride from what they’ve accomplished. 

David Head is a historian at the University of Central Florida.