The importance of science experiments

Science fairs are a form of educational activity for children which involve making projects on specific topics and are done by students all around the world. There are four types of projects for students. They are, experimental projects, which use scientific research to complete a project based on a hypothesis. Second are engineering projects which are projects for the design of a machine to improve its performance. Third are display projects like making the model of a house or a solar system and is basically the construction of a model. Last are theoretical projects which are more or less the same as engineering projects or experimental projects but due to a multitude of causes the actual experiment isn’t performed and is more of a theory.

Pros of Science Experiments

Science combines many different types of knowledge and most science projects are group projects. This teaches students about teamwork and they learn how to work with others. It teaches having confidence about the work that you do and teaches you to be proud of what you have done by yourself or even in some cases with others. Projects like these teach the child about responsibility as they have to conduct a specific amount of research on the topic they will be making a project on. The idea behind these projects is not to win or lose but rather to learn something from science and make models out of concepts learned in class to understand them effectively. For just one specific topic, a lot of different concepts with backgrounds in math and physics come together. These teach children the importance of studying all the subjects with equal interest and they become more interested in how everything works. Once the child develops and interest in research, he will want to solve problems and take apart things to see how they work. Once they reach the stage of wanting to fix, they will research methods to improve lifestyle for the generations to come and this is a huge positive as we need more researchers for the different sets of problems as a result of technology. Children learn how not to focus on the competition but rather on the fact that they have learned something. They have learned how to conduct research, make something out of scratch, prove their capabilities and become confident with the amount of work they can do. The limitless topics are so interesting, and force children to think about how the world and its wonders work. This way, they will research more by themselves to figure out what makes everything tick.

Cons of Science Experiments

The materials needed for projects might be costly and not everyone has the resources and materials to spend time on these projects which are added on top of schoolwork and homework. It only becomes a source of stress for parents and children. Unique projects require a lot of time and commitment and can affect the schoolwork of children too. Students might also believe that being judged in a competition with their peers is a daunting thing and so are fazed by the competitions of these fairs. If one child is more financially stable, they have an unfair advantage over those who come from lesser backgrounds and don’t have the means to make elaborate projects. Some parents believe that the level of creativity in these projects is not really all it’s cracked up to be. A quick internet search on a project results in hundreds of already created projects which the student only needs to copy and present as their own for credit. Science fairs are really just more work for the parents as they have to buy their child the materials and then help put the actual project together. Due to budget cuts, teachers are already given minimum pay and then to add onto their already full plate with a science fair is very unfair. The time and effort put into displaying all the projects and arranging a venue for the fair is a taxing job. The preparation that goes into a science project might take