North York Central Library Blog

Does the thought that science fair season is upon us bring out the mad scientist in you?

If you're the paren't of a school-aged child, you are no doubt familiar with the science project. Whether you have a younger child who needs some help or are watching from the sidelines as your high school student works on an assignment, you'll know that science projects involve a lot of work.

In addition to working on in-class projects, many students participate in science fairs, where their work is judged and prizes are awarded.  Students with winning projects from local and regional fairs are invited to participate in the Canada-Wide Science Fair, sponsered by Youth Science Canada, each May. The Super Bowl of fairs is probably the annual Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, where students compete for over $3,000,000 in awards and scholarships, including $75,000 for the best project.

Awards and prizes aside,there are intangible benefits to participation in science fairs. Youth Science Canada points out that they encourage students to "…. get their hands dirty and develop scientific and
technological knowledge and skills through project-based science". Of course not everyone is a fan; here's one contrarian view: Why Paren'ts Should be Wary of Science Fairs.

The Science & Technology Department of the North York Central Library has a Science Fair collection to help students get started on their projects. There are books about how to prepare a science fair project and books with project ideas.

This unique collection also has resources for science teachers:

If you are a student or researcher, check out the lab manuals

and guides to science writing:

If you enjoy building things, there are books for you too:

And finally, for a  behind-the-scenes look at the drama of a big league science fair, pick up Science Fair Season: twelve Kids, a robot named Scorch – and what it takes to win.

Author Judy Dutton followed the fortunes of six young competitors at the 2009 Intel Science and Engineering Fair. She came away from her week at the competition encouraged:

"In a world brimming with bad news…science fairs are the silver lining…I got to know the most hardworking, humbling and heartbreaking group of young men and women. They changed everything I thought I knew about kids and what they are capable of, and what we can all do if our hearts are into it, at eight years old or eighty".