The 2016 Google Science Fair is now open. This annual event asks thirteen to eighteen year old students to carry out a test or experiment on a topic that they are passionate about and then submit their projects online. The theme of this year’s Google Science Fair is on improving a process, solving a global problem, or generally making change through science. To that end the 2016 Google Science has a slogan of “#howcanwe make things better with science?”

To help students develop project ideas the Google Science Fair website offers a Make Better Generator. The Make Better Generator site asks students to complete the phrases “I love,” “I’m good at,” and “I will make better.” From the students’ responses to these questions the Make Better Generator site generates a collection of videos and websites that could spark project ideas in their minds.

Entries into the 2016 Google Science Fair are due by May 18th.

Applications for Education
The Google Science Fair website includes a section for teachers in which you will find lesson plans addressing the topics of how science changes the world and what good science looks like. These lesson plans are designed to guide students in the processes of inquiry and experiment design.