Science fair projects for 4th grade

What to expect

Fourth grade is where the fair starts to look like real science. A 4th grader can measure in centimetres or seconds, write the units in the table, and add up three tries and divide by three to find the mean (the average). That one column is the biggest step up from earlier grades, and judges notice it.

Many of our 4th grade projects are about motion (ramps, parachutes, pendulums, rockets), because a 4th grader can time and measure them on their own. Give them the variables card: what you change, what you measure, and at least two things you keep the same. If they can say why the things they keep the same matter ("if I used a different car, I wouldn't know if it was the ramp"), they understand the whole idea of a fair test.

Counted from the projects on this page: 36 about how things move, 35 about water, ice and mixing, 32 about growing and weather; 43 using kitchen things, 33 using paper, tape and toys, 27 using the outdoors and some seeds. 67 are free with what most houses have, and the rest cost about $3 or about $2 or about $1 or about $4. Testing takes from 1 to 21 days. 16 have a step a grown-up does, marked on the page.