How to Be Involved, but Not Overly So

If Gerry Wheeler could wave a magic wand, he’d concoct just the right amount of parent involvement in science fair projects.

How to help but not do the work for the child is a challenge, said Wheeler, executive director of the National Science Teachers Assn.

Teachers and science fair judges offer some tips:

* Start early. If there’s no time to repeat the experiment, it’s hard to tell if the results are a trend or a fluke.

* Brainstorm a list of project ideas. Write them down and let your child think about them for a while. For ideas, see a list of science fair categories in books or on the Internet. Flip through magazines such as National Geographic, Discover, Omni, Popular Science, Mother Earth News, High Technology, Prevention and Garbage. Talk about current events. Watch TV commercials and test their claims. Try the Internet.

* If you have Internet access, check out the California State Science Fair site: https://www.usc.edu/CSSF

* Make sure the project really interests your child. It doesn’t have to be “How Acid Rain Affects Plant Growth.” It could be “Which Cars Get the Best Gas Mileage.” The important thing is that the project asks a question and answers it.

* Get help. Your child can connect with a scientist or engineer through the state science fair’s mentor program via the Web site. Write to product makers for information. Search science articles on the Internet and e-mail the authors.

* Get supplies. Janice VanCleave’s “Guide to the Best Science Fair Projects” lists sources of scientific supplies and rocks and minerals. Stationery stores carry display backboards.

* Bow out. Scientist Arnold Shugarman, president of the Orange County Science and Engineering Fair, remembers when his children did science fair projects. “I had to stand back and restrain myself. It had to be their experience, not my experience.”