| Oh dear, your days of peace and quiet are over. Your | | | | is part of the learning process. |
| child will be creating a science project for the school | | | | * DO make certain that your child allows enough time |
| science fair. Your kitchen will become a laboratory with | | | | from start to finish. Six weeks is a good idea. Some |
| messy chemicals and gooey liquids. Your living room | | | | projects take much longer. |
| will become a staging area for display boards, charts | | | | * DO make sure that your child follows the "scientific |
| and graphs. Your computer area will be covered with | | | | method". This will include such topics as research, |
| pages and pages of research material. | | | | problem, hypothesis, experiment and conclusion. |
| Is all this chaos really worth it? | | | | * DO listen to your child's "practice" presentations. |
| Yes! Even though scientists and engineers are held in | | | | * DON'T do any of the work for your child, but DO |
| high esteem, America is suffering from a lack of | | | | give him/her guidancewhenever needed. There are no |
| technically trained young people to enter the work | | | | yelling or short tempers when doing science projects. |
| force. Science fairs give children an appreciation for | | | | There are only opportunities for exciting discovery. |
| the science and engineering fields and encourage them | | | | * DO give encouragement, guidance and support. |
| to seek technical careers. Steering your child into | | | | * DON'T stress the award factor. The most important |
| successful science fair participation and cheering their | | | | aspect of the entire exercise is discovery, excitement |
| efforts is a good step toward their future. | | | | and learning. |
| So, where do you begin? | | | | * DO give your child the help they need in going to |
| Here are some dos and don'ts to keep your sanity, | | | | libraries, getting available computer time, and making |
| keep order in the house, and help your would-be | | | | funds available for needed materials. |
| scientists to create a great project, and perhaps even | | | | * DON'T let your child do a project that uses |
| win an award. | | | | dangerous chemicals, or is otherwise unsafe. |
| * DO help them select a project in a subject that holds | | | | * DO instill a sense of pride and accomplishment to |
| their interest. A topic they like and choose will keep | | | | your child for their efforts, but DON'T be afraid to give |
| them interested and focused on the tasks at hand. | | | | your child constructive criticism. |
| * DON'T do the research for your student. Research | | | | |