Janice VanCleave's A+ Science Fair Projects
Whether your favorite middle or high-school student is interested in the  demonstrating the greenhouse effect (with shoeboxes, soil, and plastic  food wrap), sympathetic vibration (with a couple of soda bottles), or  the breathing rate of goldfish, former science teacher Janice VanCleave  provides helpful advice for designing experiments to impress judges at  the science fair. In the first section, the author explains the  importance of understanding the scientific method, selecting a topic,  identifying its category, research, overview, experimental data, project  summaries, the display, and presentation and evaluation. The second part  of the book offers project ideas for 35 science fair topics within the  categories of astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics,  stressing that "The point is not to copy the projects in this book but  to use them as exploratory experiments...." Each experiment is clearly  presented with a brief introduction, a statement of purpose, a list of  needed materials, a step-by-step procedure, a description and  explanation of the results, and ideas for taking the experiment in  different directions. Nine appendices provide additional information on  random error of measurement, percentage error, sources of scientific  supplies, and more, and a glossary and index conclude the book.  VanCleave comes through again with this inspiring, no-nonsense resource  for science fair participants. (Ages 11 and older)