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Putting together a project for a science fair can be a fun family bonding experience. Children are like sponges, they are inquisitive and they love learning. Selecting a project that allows your child to participate and experiment is essential. There is nothing worse than going to a science fair and seeing projects created by parents with little to no participation from their children. The most important aspect of choosing a project, is to pick something that interest your child and is on their academic level.

Making an Ecosystem in a bottle is an excellent elementary level science project. To complete this experiment you will need a 1-2 gallon glass food jar. Small animals like snails, insects, or tadpoles. You will also need a sun lamp, a heat lamp, pond water, plants and some form of pollutant. For set up you will fill the jar half way with the pond water, then put a few plants and animals. Allow the ecosystem to stabilize for several days and then record the status of the plants and animals. Then you will introduce a pollutant such as fertilizer or salt. After several days you will again record the status of your ecosystem. Some variables to this experiment may include reducing and increasing exposure to sunlight or heat. The overall point to this experiment is to note the changes in environment caused by the different conditions and relate the changes to environmental causes either natural or man made.

Growing you own mold is another interesting experiment for elementary aged children. In this experiment you will have several different samples with different variable and note the differences. To conduct this experiment you will need several pieces of bread, an eye dropper, and sandwich bags. You will vary the amount of water placed on the bread. The amount of light the bread is exposed to. The temperature the bread is exposed to and the freshness of the bread itself. When you have given an equal amount of time to all test subjects and noted daily your findings you will state your conclusions. Have the children examine what situation causes the greatest mold growth and what situation helped prevent the mold growth.

A baking soda volcano is a classic science fair standard. It is easy to do and your child can present it without the volcano noting just the chemical reaction involved. Items needed to produce this exciting explosion are Baking Soda, Vinegar, a container large enough to control the reaction and safety items such as goggles and paper towels. To conduct

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