Why I Created a "Choose-Your-Science Fair Project" for My Students (And Why You’ll Love It Too!)

 As a virtual science teacher, one of my biggest goals is to keep students engaged—even when they’re learning from home. I knew I wanted a meaningful, hands-on experience that would wrap up our content without a traditional test. That’s where the idea for my Choose-Your-Science Fair Project came from!

🌟 Why I Made This Project

Let’s be real—final exams can be stressful, especially in a virtual or hybrid setting. I wanted to give my students ownership of their learning while encouraging creativity, inquiry, and real-world application of science. This project is designed to let students explore a topic that interests them, while still hitting key science standards.

Bonus? It keeps things low-stress, high-engagement, and accessible to students with a range of strengths.

🛠️ How I Created It

I started by brainstorming project options that:

  • Could be done at home with simple materials

  • Represent different branches of science (life, physical, Earth/space, etc.)

  • Encouraged data collection, analysis, or modeling

  • Were scaffolded for students who were at a lower level

I built out each project with:
✔️ Simple directions- requires students to do some research on their project in order to come up with their methods
✔️ A simple data table
✔️ Introduction-type questions and conclusion-type questions as a scaffold to a real lab report 
✔️ A scientific question to guide the experiment
✔️ A final checklist to help students stay organized

Students can choose from 5 options—or create their own science project idea with teacher approval. They also have full flexibility in how they submit their final "report" (Google Slides, video, audio, Canva, etc.).

💻 How I'm Using It in My Classroom

This year, I’m assigning the project over two weeks as an end-of-the-year "final" project. Students work on it independently with check-ins during our live sessions. They submit their final project in the format they choose, and I use the built-in rubric to assess their work.

It’s been amazing to see students light up with ideas—some are making ice cream in their kitchens, others are testing weather apps, and a few are even designing whole ecosystems for imaginary creatures. The engagement speaks for itself!

🔁 How You Can Modify It

This resource is super flexible and easy to adapt:

For Lower-Level Students:

  • Allow students to work in pairs or small groups

  • Shorten the project to 3–5 days

  • Provide sentence starters or templates for the report

  • Allow them to record audio or video answers instead of written responses

For Higher-Level Students:

  • Have them include cited research or explain related NGSS concepts

  • Require more detailed data analysis or graphs

  • Ask them to present their project live to peers or create a mini science blog post

  • Encourage them to design an experiment from scratch using the open-ended option

If you're looking for a project that encourages critical thinking, creativity, and scientific exploration, this resource is for you.

➡️ You can find the Choose-Your-Science Fair Project in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here.

Let students choose science—and see just how much they can do with a little curiosity and a lot of creativity! 🧪✨

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