Science projects have always caused a stressful situation in our house. A great science project idea can grow out of your child's chronic illness or medical experience. Your child will be naturally curious about the topic, as you will be, and can learn about their illness at the same time. No need to worry about what the science project idea needs to be, just use your own experiences.
We used by son's asthma to develop a science experiment. Using a peak flow meter, which measures air a person can blow out of their lungs in one breath and can be purchased inexpensively, my son took peak flow measurements of boy athletes and boy non-athletes. The definition of athlete was constricted to a boy that exercised in a team sport more than three times weekly.We just used the boys on his baseball team...a captive audience. His hypothesis was that boy athletes would have higher peak flows than non-athlete boys.
Each boy's peak flows were measured three times. The highest number was recorded for each boy. Each boy was instructed on use of the meter and was given an opportunity to practice before measurements were taken. Measurements were taken three different days. Any young man that was ill was excluded from the study.
My son found that boy athletes did have higher peak flow measurements than non-boy athletes. An additional benefit to this study was educational in that the boys became aware of how important exercise was for their body.
Ann Lewis, ARNP, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Certified Life Coach (CTA), Mental Health Counseling Student, Expert Author, Blog: Child's Play Parenting http://childsplayparenting.blogspot.com
