Be A Whiz At Your Math Or Science Endeavors
When I was a kid, science fair was one of the high points of the year. I was brought up on 80s movies. I saw War Games, The Manhattan Project, and all kinds of other movies where ways kids gained recognition and adventure by virtue of their scientific exploits. In reality, I was not a whiz kid. I was pretty smart, but science was not my forte. I was much too impractical, and wasn't disciplined enough in my studies. As a result of this, I always had trouble picking out math and science fair projects.
In the end, my dad would usually help me pick out the science fair project topics. I would start with something too grand for me to really do at my age. For example, I would want to invent a perpetual motion machine when I heard it was not possible. I actually wanted to disprove modern physics. Another time, I wanted to build a laser although I barely understood the principles of optics.
My dad would always help me to narrow things down a little bit. As a matter of fact, he had some of the best science fair topics in the competition. Although I never did very well in state competitions, I always did pretty well in our high school science fair. One of my best science fair topics involved the study of different plants. I was trying to calculate the perfect combination of light, soil condition, and water for growing tomato plants. I actually designed a very sophisticated trial to evaluate several factors at once. It involved a control group, and several different trial groups each consisting of five plants.
It is hard to overrate the importance of math and science fair projects in coming up with a successful project. You see, your science fair projects have to strike the perfect balance. On the one hand, you don't want a boring science fair topic. You don't want something that has been done before so many times that it is of no interest to anyone. You want to challenge yourself. On the other hand, your science fair topics can't become too ambitious. If you try to bite off more than you can chew, you'll never get anywhere. When you are a kid, figuring out just the right level can be exceedingly challenging. That is why it is so important to get help from an adult with their science fair ideas. After all, there's no substitute for experience.
