Need help getting started on your science fair project? In this video series, a JPL scientist, engineer and educator team up to help you learn how to come up with an idea for a great science fair project and see it through to completion.

Introduction

To get started on your science fair project, you'll learn to observe the world around you and ask questions about the things you observe.

1. Get your idea and do some research

Observe the world around you and ask questions about the things you observe.

2. Ask a testable question

Develop your idea into a question you can test. Your question should follow the format, "How does [input] affect [output]?"

3. Design and conduct your experiment

Design your experiment and keep track of the results. Remember to only change one variable and conduct your experiment multiple times for each trial. Each trial should be repeated in exactly the same way.

4. Examine your results

Now that your experiment is done, it's time to examine your results. You want to look for trends in your results and draw conclusions from those trends. You also want to examine your data for possible influences from factors you didn't consider at first.

5. Communicate your experiment and results

Make a poster display that summarizes your experiment so you can share your results. Be sure to include the question you were trying to answer (your hypothesis), the steps you took to answer that question, your results and any factors that may have influenced your results. Your poster should be visually appealing, but also clear about what you did and why people should care.