How do you choose a topic? Just think of things that interest you! It could involve one of your hobbies. It could involve a topic that you have already covered in class. It could involve a parent's or friend's job. It might just be something that you have come across in a book or magazine.

Once you have thought of a general topic that interests you, start thinking about different questions that belong to that topic. For example, maybe you the topic that you are interested in is "birds". You might start asking yourself questions like "Where do house sparrows sleep in the winter?" or "What kind of food do different winter birds like?".

There are lots of different places that you might start browsing to help you choose a general topic. They include:

• Your school texts, or your books at home
• The school or public library. Check out all of the different books on science fair ideas! When I searched the website of the Edmonton Public Library and used "science fair" as the subject, I found out that they had 76 different books about science fair projects!
• Video rental stores (check out things like NOVA and National Geographic videos)
• The newspapers (I like the science section in the Sunday Edmonton Journal)
• The world wide web. If you use the web, here are some possible science fair idea sites that might spark your interest:
  • The Science Fair Idea Exchange
  • Here are some project idea hints from the Cyber-Fairwebsite
  • Here are some ideas for Grades 1 to 4 and some ideas for Grades 4 to 6 from the Science Fairs Homepage in Newfoundland.