Sometimes it can seem like the hardest part about your project is choosing a topic in the first place! There are so many neat ideas, it can be a real challenge to pick just one!

You can start just by making a list of the things you have ever been curious about. Usually these are where the best topics come from, so make an honest effort to come up with your own idea. For example, maybe you’ve wondered about why some toys require small batteries and others require bigger batteries? Or what exactly is inside those fruits and vegetables that supposedly makes them healthier than a slice of chocolate cake? Or why do some objects sink and others float, even when they’re made of the same material? These are just a few examples, but when you use your own personal experiences and imagination, the sky is the limit!

If you’re having trouble thinking of a topic on your own, feel free to check out any of the resources below. You’re sure to find something that captures your interest. After you have a topic area, if you are doing an investigation project, come up with a question that you will be able to answer using the scientific method. Many of the resources below won’t directly give you ideas for your investigation question, but will hopefully provide enough inspiration that you can come up with it yourself.

Websites

• ScienceProject.com. This is a great site with tons of science project ideas for all different areas and grade levels, and has exact steps in many cases. If you use an idea from this site, see if you can vary it a little bit in order to make it your own.
• Science Buddies. Another great site with lots of ideas. Most of them are fairly advanced and would only be appropriate for 4th/5th graders. But if you look, you can find some that would work for younger kids, or you can take any advanced topic and simplify it down.
• Science News for Kids. This online science magazine has put together a long list of investigation questions which have been used for winning science projects in the past.
• Discovery Education. Here you'll find some advice on how to formulate a good testable question. Several examples of questions, controlled variables, and manipulated variables are provided.
• Internet Public Library Science Fair Project Resource Guide. This page is actually a list of links to other websites that have ideas for science projects.
• School for Champions. This site actually teaches you about various science topics. It could be used as inspiration for a research project, or any of the topics could be turned into an investigation with a little bit of creativity.
• Sample Questions and Topic Areas. This is our own short list of sample questions and topic areas that we've compiled to to hopefully inspire you.

Books

• Janice VanCleave's Guide to the Best Science Fair Projects, by Janice VanCleave
• Janice VanCleave's A+ Science Fair Projects, by Janice VanCleave
• Janice VanCleave's Guide to More of the Best Science Fair Projects, by Janice VanCleave
• The Complete Handbook of Science Fair Projects, by Julianne Blair Bochinski
• The Complete Workbook for Science Fair Projects, by Julianne Blair Bochinski
• 202 Science Investigations – Exciting Adventures in Earth, Life, and Physical Sciences, by Marjorie Frank
• Science Fair Projects for Dummies, by Maxine Levaren
• 100 Amazing First-Prize Science Fair Projects, by Glen Vecchione

Stores and places

• Snapdoodle Toys. This store, located in the Issaquah Highlands, carries a large selection of science experiments and science themed learning kits and materials.
• Lakeshore Learning. This store, located on NE 4th Ave. in downtown Bellevue, has a good selection of books that contain ideas for science experiments and projects. They also have science kits and other materials.
• Pacific Science Center. Of course this is not a store, but rather a museum of science. You may have been there before, but take another trip. This time, as you walk through the exhibits, be thinking about which one captures your interest the most.