Science Fair Project Fun!

Science fair projects for 5th grade don’t have to be complicated. Some of the best and most enlightening projects enable kids to understand scientific concepts using very few materials.

Just practicing scientific writing following the principles of the scientific method is really the perfect formula for a winning science fair project – no matter what grade.

True story: I once gave my classroom of third graders an assignment of doing a science fair project. I did share that the topic could be anything under the solar system sun, including gravity, physics, engineering, life science, or other branches of science.

They could be using plants, balloons, popcorn, dry ice, candy, or even their dog to explore and explain the hypothesis.

As you probably already guessed, the projects that were returned were abysmal and not what I had envisioned at all.

Of course, back then I (nor parents) had the luxury of Pinterest inspiration to find cool experiments. Or fantastic teacher-created guided lesson plans to help me model my expectations for my students. Good thing we have come so far.

Check out some of the top science fair freebies out there so you don’t repeat my mistakes. Enjoy!

Most Popular Science Fair Projects for Intermediate Grades

What a great YouTube compilation video showing actual students who are presenting actual fifth grade science fair projects – a wonderful example to show students who are new to science fairs.

10 easy science experiments that will get students’ wheels turning. I like how they would still need to figure out the science behind the experiment, conduct their own research, and present their findings. A great list that require few materials.

This video shows over 20 science fair project ideas that are broken down by the topic areas. Magnetism, Electricity, Density, Chemistry, and more are covered. That would be a perfect place for students to begin their brainstorming when picking a topic of their own.

More Science Fair Classroom Freebies:

Science Experiment Freebie!: Want to find a way to incorporate food and science? Here is a great example.

Getting Ready for a Science Fair: A great resource packet for students to help plan their idea and also includes a grading rubric too.

Scientific Writing: A good starting place for students to understand the concept of writing in science.

Science Fair Project Planner: This planner is designed for group science fair projects. Included is an agenda of target due dates, steps of the science fair project with brief descriptions/directions, guidelines on putting together the science fair board, and a scoring rubric with self reflection and peer scoring.

Science Fair Project Labels FREEBIE!: Love these title labels for the project board to help students have a clearly defined presentation.

Science Fair Display Board Sample: A perfect visual for students who need a specific template for setting up their science fair boards. It also comes with a Spanish version, which is super handy too!

How to do an elementary science fair project: This is a good handout for students (and parents) with exact steps for completing each of the sub-areas for a basic project. It would be a handy reference when doing research at the library.

Science Fair Project Board Headings: Black & White Labels: No need for students to create handwritten project board labels for the science fair. Instead, you can provide everyone the same labels to keep everything formatted the same.

Would you like to have your printables featured at Classroom Freebies? Become an author and join our team!
Click HERE to see all the details.

Science Fair Layout/Outline: This pack of printables includes 3 different options for science fair project board layouts. Love it!

Science Fair Poster Creation Instruction Sheet: Another example of a board template layout. Can you really ever have enough options?

Scientific Method Handout for Science Fair: YAY! A flowchart for steps to putting together a science fair project and what the big questions/experimental procedures are along the way. Keep students on track – maybe even write in to-be-completed-by dates on the original copy before sharing with the class.

Science Fair Student How-To Guide: Super helpful information, including a parent letter to keep parents in the know-how for what their child is supposed to be working on in the coming weeks.

Science Fair Investigative Plan Template: Students follow the 8 simple steps in this printable packet to get a perfect outline of how to drive their science fair project for the win!

Science Fair Planning Packet: A 16-page workbook that includes Due date record sheet for keeping track of elements, Brainstorming project ideas, Project Question, Research information, Hypothesis formation, variables defined, Procedure, Materials listed, Data recording space, Observations recording space as well as results recording space, Results written into paragraph form, conclusions, Display board requirements & example, Reflection Report Information and writing section, Parent information sheet, Rubric, and Experiment Log.

It’s Science Fair Time Again!: Need some more parent resources? This 9 page worksheet handout includes parent letters, checklists, information, and even an example of an invitation to an informational session about science fair expectations and steps involved. Children can even choose to have buddies to enter with which makes it fun!