Ideas For Science Fair Projects

If you are interested in fossils, this is one of our ideas for science fair projects you many enjoy! A fossil is a really old item that shows evidence of what life was like millions of years ago.  This science fair project aimed at students in grades three to six will help you make a fossil, and teach you more about how ancient life was preserved.

There are two main types of fossils, fossils of actual bones, which get turned into stone after millions of years and fossils that are formed when something is pressed into the mud or leaves an imprint in the mud.  The mud dries, and turns into stone after hundreds of thousand to millions of years.  For this science fair project, you are going to be able to make fossils of imprints of something left behind.  Don’t worry; you won't have to wait a million years to see what the results are! If you feel you need some more help with scientific method or on how to display your results, I can recommend "Super Science Fair Projects."

What you need for this science fair project is petroleum jelly, plaster of Paris, and some things that you want to be fossilized.  Some ideas for things you might want to try out are shells, leaves, flowers, bones from animals, and other items that are small but have a lot of detail. 

The first step is to make the plaster of Paris.  Follow the mixing instructions on the box.  The plaster of Paris represents the mud, and after a short period of time will turn hard, just like stone.  Rub petroleum jelly on the item that you want to ‘fossilize’ and gently press it into the plaster of Paris and then remove it (the petroleum jelly will make the item slippery and allow it to come out easily). 

Wait for the plaster of Paris to dry.  What do you see?  What part of the fossil came out well and what details can you not see from looking at your fossil?  Is there a lot of detail?  Record your data. Recording all your data is very important in a science fair project.

What you should find out is that you're looking at the mirror image of the item.  You'll also discover that some details came in surprisingly clear, while other details are very difficult to identify.  Why do you think that is?  What are some things that would have been very easy to make fossils of in the past, and what are some things that wouldn't make good fossils at all?  Write down all of your impressions to share with your classmates. 

If you need even more data, you can visit your local museum and check out some of the fossils that they have on display.  How do their fossils compare with your fossils? 

It's very rare for fossils to be formed.  It takes the right conditions and the right environment.  Fossils are a very exciting find for archaeologists, but scientists still have enough to give them a rough picture of what the past looked like millions of years ago.

For more on Scienctific Method, I recommend "Super Science Fair Projects" as it is a very thorough e-book that you can download immediately, if you do not have a lot of time and your project needs to be in by tomorrow I can recommend "24 Hours Science Fair Projects" as all the project in it can be done by tomorrow.

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I hope you enjoy our Ideas For Science Fair Project.

As Science Fair Projects need to be done correctly using the proper scientific method, I strongly recommend that you get one of the excellent e-books I recommend, and make sure you do the best Science Fair Project possible! Browse them and decide wich one suits your needs the best. Personally I think "101 Easy Science Projects" are great because it has projects suitable for all the grades. On the other hand if your project is due shortly, you may want to consider "24 Hours Science Projects." Then again, "Science Fair Projects Made Easy" and "Super Science Fair Projects" teaches you all the scientific methods and both have lots of help to ensure you do the best project possibe, so, have a look, I know you'll not be dissappointed.

For All The Grades:

101 Easy Science Projects

Science Fair Projects Made Easy

For the Elementary Kids

24 Hours Science Projects

Super Science Fair Projects