Science Fair Project Idea -- Is is good enough
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Valerie
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Science Fair Project Idea -- Is is good enough
My child wants to study his pets for differnce in growth by changing their bedding & food, heat & humidity. Is this possible for him to do for the fair? These are his pets and he will show no harm for sure.
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deleted-71447
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As for whether it is OK to use your pets for the experiments you described, you may have to make some minor adjustments to satisfy the International Science and Engineering Fair rules, and to ensure that the animals will not be adversely affected. At a minimum, you will have to review some guidelines and fill out some additional forms to perform a science fair project on vertebrate animals outside of a regulated research institution. There are some details at the site below, with links to the necessary forms about half way down the page.
http://www.sciserv.org/isef/rules/rules10.asp
http://www.sciserv.org/isef/rules/rules10.asp
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Lise Byrd
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The higher-level science fairs will certainly need extra forms since you are working with vertebrates. Chris's website gives the forms for the international fair; I would suggest also searching your local and state science fairs to see what the requirements are for working with vertebrates.
The other thing to bear in mind as you perform your experiment is that your animals are individuals, and they would not respond the same way to changing heat and bedding, etc. This does not mean you can't do the experiment, but it is something that you will want to be able to discuss in your conclusion. Are the three pets you want to work with all the same age and gender? If so, you can get rid of growth differences you're not testing for.
Has your teacher given you any specific reasons why you cannot do this experiment? If you let us know what they are, we may be able to help you adjust your idea or procedure to suit her guidelines.
Sonia
The other thing to bear in mind as you perform your experiment is that your animals are individuals, and they would not respond the same way to changing heat and bedding, etc. This does not mean you can't do the experiment, but it is something that you will want to be able to discuss in your conclusion. Are the three pets you want to work with all the same age and gender? If so, you can get rid of growth differences you're not testing for.
Has your teacher given you any specific reasons why you cannot do this experiment? If you let us know what they are, we may be able to help you adjust your idea or procedure to suit her guidelines.
Sonia

