Ways to find a Science Fair Project Idea
Look at lists of science categories and pick one that you are interested in, then narrow that down to a project. (example, say you pick psychology, then narrow it to the differences between boys and girls, then to a topic like "Do boys remember boy-type pictures (footballs) better than girl-type pictures (flowers)?" (Two lists of categories attached)

Use your experiences Remember a time you noticed something and thought "I wonder how that works?" or "I wonder what would happen if..." then turn that into a project. Check the science section of the school library. Browse and look at book titles, then look inside the ones that look interesting to you. Also thumb through encyclopedias and magazines. Good magazines for ideas are: National Geographic, Discover, Omni, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Mother Earth News, High Technology, Prevention, and Garbage. Perhaps go to the downtown Library.

Think about current events
Look at the newspaper. People are hungry in Africa because of droughts - a project on growing plants without much rain, which types grow ok with little water? Or the ozone hole over Antarctica - how can we reduce ozone? -a project on nonaerosol ways to spray things. Or oil spills. how can we clean them up? -a project on how to clean oil out of water

Watch commercials on TV
Test their claims. Does that anti-perspirant really stop wetness better than other ones? What are the real differences between Barbie and imitation Barbie dolls? Can kids tell the difference between coke and pepsi if they don't know which they are drinking?

INITIAL OBSERVATION
You notice something, and wonder why it happens. You see something and wonder what causes it. You want to know how or why something works. You ask questions about what you have observed. The first step is to write down what you have noticed.

INFORMATION GATHERING
Find out about what you want to investigate. Read books, magazines or ask professionals who might know in order to learn about the effect or area of study. Keep track of where you got your information.

TITLE THE PROJECT
Choose a title that describes the effect or thing you are investigating. The title should summarize what the investigation will deal with.

STATE THE PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
What do you want to find out? Write a statement that describes what you want to do. Use your observations and questions to write the statement.

MAKE HYPOTHESIS
Make a list of answers to the questions you have. This can be a list of statements describing how or why you think the observed things work. Hypothesis must be stated in a way that can be tested by an experiment.

DESIGN AN EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE TO TEST YOUR HYPOTHESIS
Design an experiment to test each hypothesis. Make a step-by-step list of what you will do to answer your questions. This list is called an experimental procedure.