Ask an Expert Guidelines
If you have never used the forum before, please read the "Do's and Don'ts" as well as the brief "How to Get Started" below.
Do's and Don'ts
- Do look at other resources on our site before asking a question. Check out How to Do a Science Fair Project. If you're having trouble getting started, try the Topic Selection Wizard.
- Do be specific and complete. Describe the background of your project. Then ask your question. Don't assume our experts can read your mind! They try, but haven't been able to do it yet.
- Do use proper English. You're communicating with adults who may not understand the codes you use in a chatroom.
- Do be polite. Volunteers really appreciate it when someone tells them, "Thank you."
- Don't ask "What project should I do?" That's a question only you can answer. It is OK to ask something like, "I think project A has this advantage... and project B has this advantage. In your experience, which of those advantages would lead to the best science fair project?" That's a question our experts can help with.
- Don't ask homework questions. Our experts are volunteering to help with your science project, not do your problem sets.
How to Get Started
- Step 1: If you have never used "Ask an Expert" before, you must first register. At the conclusion of registration,
an activation key will be sent to the email address you provide. Your e-mail will describe how to activate your account.
- NOTE #1: Depending on your email system, it may take anywhere from 1 minute to more than an hour to
receive your email.
- NOTE #2: You only need to do the registration step the first time. On subsequent visits, simply log in.
- NOTE #1: Depending on your email system, it may take anywhere from 1 minute to more than an hour to
receive your email.
- Step 2: Once you have logged in (or activated your account), click on the appropriate grade level forum and
then choose a forum, based on area of science, to read or post messages.
- Step 3: From within the forum, click on the "New Topic" icon to ask a new question or the "Post Reply"
icon to reply to an existing message.
- Step 4: When you're done, please log out.
- Step 5: You can click on the "FAQ" icon at the right top of the page to get help on other features of the bulletin board.
Ready to Begin?
Click the button below to enter Ask an Expert. If you already have an account, you can log in here.
