science fair - astronomy project help

[Castellontherealone]

I need some serious help. I want to do the science fair this year and hopefully make it to the state fair. But I have one problem: my project. I don't have a project. I don't even know where to start. All I know is that I wanted my project to be in the area of astronomy. I love astronomy and know a lot about it and the sub-categories contained in it (ex. radio astronomy, astrophysics, etc.). I have looked online to help me come up with ideas and experiments to at least start a project, but I have nothing. I guess I just don't know how I'll do the experiment part of the project. I don't think many people enter science fairs with astronomy projects because they are hard. But if someone could just help me with how to start or get an idea for a project and how the experiment would work would be so helpful! Please help; the fair is coming up rapidly!

[bfinio]

Hi - when you say you've looked online, have you browsed the Astronomy topic area on our website? There are many projects you can do using existing datasets, without needing access to something like a telescope to gather your own data:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... /astronomy

[Castellontherealone]

Yes, I have looked. But I would like a topic with a bit of finding your own data in it. I have access to a telescope. I have been thinking, and I would like my project to be about nebulae. Do you have any projects on Nebulae on this website? or any recommendations? I also have one last tiny question: for science fair projects, what kind of poster board would you recommend using? I know some kids use a different kind of material for their project posters instead of using the dollar store cardboard poster; I don't know what kind. Thanks so much!

[bfinio]

Hi - I didn't write most of our astronomy projects (we have over a thousand projects written by many different authors) so I'm not familiar with all of them, but a search for "nebula" turns up three projects. You'd have to check to see if you can collect your own data for these: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... s?s=nebula. For example, the Chandra and James Webb telescopes are extremely powerful and the first two projects use images from them - I'm not sure if the telescope you have access to would be able to produce adequate nebula images for those projects.

As for your display board, we have an entire guide about that here that you might find useful: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... lay-boards

[MadelineB]

In addition to the above excellent suggestions, regarding display boards, it would be good to check the guidelines for your local and/or regional science fairs ... with the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, many science fairs started using "digital" displays, usually 12-18 slides (e.g., PowerPoint) rather than physical poster boards.

You might be able to see the slides for previous years for your local/regional science fair so you can see how other students presented their projects!

Good luck with your project!

[Castellontherealone]

Thank you all so much!! This will definitely be so much help! I believe at my regional science fair they use display boards. I never knew "digital" displays were a thing since covid lol. Again thanks so much!

[MadelineB]

Glad to help!

Just to mix things up, ISEF requires both a "digital" project display and a physical project board!

Here's an astronomy "digital" project "presentation" from ISEF 2023:

https://projectboard.world/isef/project ... way-galaxy

As you can see, the individual slides for the digital project presentation can then be printed individually for display on the physical project board, or combined to create a digital project poster board, using poster presentation software, and then the large poster is printed using a large format printer.

Best of luck with your project!

[Aditi5897]

In addition to the above excellent suggestions, regarding display boards, it would be good to check the guidelines for your local and/or regional science fairs ... with the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, many science fairs started using "digital" displays, usually 12-18 slides (e.g., PowerPoint) rather than physical poster boards.

You might be able to see the slides for previous years for your local/regional science fair so you can see how other students presented their projects!

Good luck with your project!

Great suggestion! Checking local and regional science fair guidelines for digital display requirements is crucial, especially given the shift due to the pandemic. Examining previous years' slides can offer valuable insights into effective presentation strategies. Adapting to digital formats can enhance accessibility and creativity in showcasing projects.