Cool Science Fair Projects Made Simple and Fun- By Dee Schrock

Cool science fair projects can be difficult to track down because children today seemed to have heard it all, seen it all and experienced it all. Parents and teachers can blame the pervasive influence of television and the Internet. Don't lose hope, however. You can still make your child come up with cool science fair setups that will make their classmates and teachers amazed at the power of nature and science as well as the wonder of life. Here are three of them.

Strong Sand

You will demonstrate two things with this experiment. First, you can show how sand can be used to stop the force of a speeding bullet from fatally harming an object. Second, you can illustrate the principle behind seismic waves moving slowly through sand. These objectives do make for cool science fair projects in a killing-the-bird-with-one-stone kind of way.

You will need the following materials: small cardboard tube, sand, sheet of tissue paper, rubber bands, scissors and 1-foot dowel rod. Initially, you will instruct observers to punch a hole through the empty one-ply tissue-covered cardboard tube, which is very easy indeed.

Now, fill the cardboard tube with sand three-quarters of the way up and replace the tissue paper. Again, instruct the observer to punch a hole, which will be impossible now. This is because the sand will push against the sides of the cardboard tube, thus, stopping the force of the "bullet".

Floating Objects and Static Electricity

Ancient Greek scientists awed their fellowmen by making objects move and float in mid-air with no visible strings. It's not magic, it's static electricity and it's one of the coolest of cool science projects ever.

You only need clear balloons, small Styrofoam balls, a piece of wool sweater, packing wrap, a piece of PVC pipe about ¾ inches in diameter and 3 feet long, a pencil and tape. You will start by taping the pencil into the PVC end. Then, you will cut the packing wrap into 1"x2"x12" strips and join them to make a ring.

Now, build up static electricity by rubbing the Styrofoam band against the wool sweater. Also, build up a similar static charge in the PVC pipe by rubbing the wool sweater against it. Using the pencil at the PVC pipe's end, carefully pick up the band and toss it in the air. Just be sure that you have positioned the pipe below the band in order to make it float. Let your child practice, practice and practice until he gets it right.

Celebrate Life

Arguably, when your child demonstrates the wonder of life itself, he will be judged by his peers and teachers as having one of the coolest of the cool science fair projects. After all, there is no greater wonder than the fact that creatures great and small inhabit the Earth they way they do!

You can bring a nest of eggs that are about just ready to hatch. You can then focus warm lights upon it to hasten the process and hope for the best, the best being that the eggs will hatch in time to awe the judges, teachers, children and parents. Definitely, your child's cool science fair projects will be the star of the show for not even the most advanced technology known to man can rival the wonder of that we call life.