๐Ÿ”ญ The Experiment Station

The best science fair projects that nobody else at your fair has done โ€” no volcanoes, no potato clocks, no "which soda rots teeth fastest."

โœ… Actually original ๐Ÿ† Judge-impressing ๐Ÿงช Real experiments, not demos

โš ๏ธ The Overdone Hall of Shame

Judges have seen these hundreds of times. If your idea is on this list, pick something above instead!

๐Ÿ† How to Actually Win

Ask a question, don't do a demo. A volcano is a demonstration. "Does the ratio of vinegar to baking soda change eruption height?" is an experiment. Judges score experiments way higher.
Measure with numbers. Anything you can count, time, or weigh beats "it looked bigger." Charts and graphs of real data are judge magnets.
Repeat your trials. Doing each test 3โ€“5 times and averaging the results shows you understand real science. One trial = luck. Five trials = data.
Have a "surprise" finding ready. Judges love when you say "I expected X, but I found Y, and here's why I think that happened."