Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Respected Sir/ Madam,

I am student. We will be having a Science Fair Project conducted in a school. We were instructed to exhibit a working science model. Iam interested in subjects like Aerodyanamics (ie., i want to make a model aircraft and make it fly and explain its flight mechanism) and also in Robotics (making simple robots, what are the essential parts, its assembling and operation. I need vital informations like parts required, assembling, etc., I would be grateful to you for your help.
Thanking You

Rajgovind

Hi Rajgovind,

If you click on the links up the top left corner for Science Fair Project Ideas that will give some outlines for projects that could help get your started. Its good that you have ideas about what you are interested in as that helps a lot. Also there is a link to How to Do a Science Fair Project. We like to encourage students to use the Scientific Method - so to experiment with different aspects of a model rather than just explaining how it works. To use your example of building a model plane - you could build 3 models that are the same except for different shaped wing profiles and test to see which flies further and see if you can explain the results based on your background research on aerodynamics. Or build one model and add different amounts of weight to the nose to see how that effects flight. For something like this you could use a model from a kit and add your own adaptations or build one from scratch if you are very creative. Get some of your thoughts together about how to start and post them and people will help you work out the details.

Best of luck,
Caroline

Hi Rajgovind!

If you pose the following two queries to answers.com:

1. What are aerodynamics science projects?
2. What are robotics science projects?

you'll get a wealth of resources.

(Note the spelling of aerodynamics.)

Notes:

1. The exact wording of your input to answers.com, or any other search engine, may have a big impact on your result. So, some experimentation may be needed. For example, you might try: "What are science projects in aerodynamics?" But I think the listed query is better.
2. Beware of sites that are just trying to sell you something. In answers.com, these are supposed to be segregated under "Sponsored Links." But, they occasionally leak into "Web Results."

carolinethorn wrote:Hi Rajgovind,

If you click on the links up the top left corner for Science Fair Project Ideas that will give some outlines for projects that could help get your started. Its good that you have ideas about what you are interested in as that helps a lot. Also there is a link to How to Do a Science Fair Project. We like to encourage students to use the Scientific Method - so to experiment with different aspects of a model rather than just explaining how it works. To use your example of building a model plane - you could build 3 models that are the same except for different shaped wing profiles and test to see which flies further and see if you can explain the results based on your background research on aerodynamics. Or build one model and add different amounts of weight to the nose to see how that effects flight. For something like this you could use a model from a kit and add your own adaptations or build one from scratch if you are very creative. Get some of your thoughts together about how to start and post them and people will help you work out the details.

Best of luck,
Caroline

Respected Mam,

You said that i can use a building kit for modelling an aircraft.
I want to know were it will be available. Iam residing at Chennai in India.
Please help me.

Rajgovind.

Hi Rajgovind,

A toy store might have some model aircraft kits. These can vary a great deal in price because some are very sophisticated models that are not really meant to be flown but more for show but you might also find some smaller balsa wood ones.

You could also look for kits on the internet. You would need an adult with a credit card to order them for you and perhaps the shipping cost would be quite high to send it to India. I havent bought model planes on the internet before so cannot recommend a particular store. If you do a google search for "model airplane kit science fair" I expect it will give you links to several stores. You would want to look carefully to check they are a reputable store and to see if they will ship internationally.

This one looks quite good
http://www.turnertoys.com/G1/balsa_model_airplanes3.htm

Best of luck,
Caroline

If you are looking for working models, one of the largest mail order companies that sells radio controlled airplanes is Tower Hobbies:

http://www.towerhobbies.com

These will vary from relatively inexpensive to insanely expensive. They ship worldwide.

Hi Rajgovind,

It comes to a build vs. buy decision. A local resource who may be able to help is the Indian Aeromodelers at http://www.geocities.com/muinul/
I have no knowledge of this organization, commercial vs. hobbyist, so beware.

If you decide to buy, several stores in India are listed on the web page above. I don't know Indian geography; so I don't know if any of these stores are near Chennai.