Academic Fair: Interests and Inquiries: Demonstrations

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Demonstrate a Process

Sometimes the best way to understand a process is to try it out yourself -- to demonstrate to both yourself and others that you know how it works. Children who have been wondering about how airplanes fly can find out by exploring the effects of moving air on wing-shaped objects. Children who have been wondering about how crystals grow can find out by growing salt crystals at home.

Here are some examples of demonstrations developed for an earlier fair:


This demonstration answered the question, "What makes a plane go up?" with a hairdryer and a moveable wing.	This demonstration answered the question, "How do crystals grow?" by growing table salt crystals on a string.

Most demonstration projects begin with research in the library or on the Web -- but they don't stop there. As they develop their project, children work through demonstrations of what they've learned until they're sure they understand the process. They may try several versions to see which one produces the best results.

If children present their demonstration at the fair, then visitors can watch, ask questions or maybe even try things out themselves.

The key step will be to make sure your child's demonstration answers a question.

Go here to learn more about developing a question.

Return to the Types of Projects page.