Re: Science Project

Roger Young wrote:
>
> Anyone have any ideas or links to ideas for a 4th grade science
> project?
>
> Roger Young

Roger,

I don't know where there would be links for such a thing, but both of my
sons were VERY successful at that age with Aerodynamics.

Fold a half dozen or so paper airplanes of various sizes and
configurations. (You can probably find designs on the web somewhere.)
Then throw them along a tape measure a dozen or so times measuring
distance and also distance OFF the line (for the ones that loop and fly
off in wierd directions.) Form conclusions on why the long ones do
better or why the ones with the stubby wings do or whatever. The
research part is done by basically explaining lift, drag, and thrust
(most encyclopedias have simple explanations of those things.) Since
most teachers of that age child have little background in the science of
flight, just about ANY conclusions your kid makes (if done with panache)
will appear valid. Charts of the record of flights and the planes
themselves hung from a string across the display board finish it off
nicely.
Another that was a lot of fun (talk about mutually exclusive terms...fun
& science project) imagine an urban animal which develops and evolves to
survive in a city of the future. Then with chicken wire and plaster of
paris, build him. My son's was about three feet tall, stood on short but
powerful hind legs (so he could pull himself up into garbage cans to
forage) wore a two liter coke bottle on his back (airtank) with hoses to
his nostrils, sunglasses (ozone gone), sneakers (for running on
asphalt), added-on pointy toes for climbing chain-link fences, carried a
small aluminum foil umbrella alonside his backpack (to keep the acid
rain off), had a waist pouch built into his belly with water
purification tablets, bandaids, neosporin, sunblock, etc. There is a
LOT of room for imagination here and the creature becomes more than just
a static board display. The research part of the project explains
various threats to our environment and illustrates how if we do nothing
about those threats, we might ALL end up looking like that.
At our house, we lived with that little bugger for two years until
Hurricane Andrew blew him away with the rest of the house.

Good Luck with it and don't let the prospects of this annual chore wear
you down. Think of it as mind-expanding. :-)

YiS,
Doug Roach
SA Troop 10
South Florida Council
Miami
mailto:djroach@ix.netcom.com

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