Science fair project ideas?

This little guy was the center of the display:

My son won first place for his project on black lights. It was fun and easy. Most of the work went into the awesome display we made.

Based on what we saw this year, I would say do not do paper airplanes or which brand of (whatever project) is better. We saw tons of those at DS's, and none of them got very good feedback.

There was one really neat one on color theory, but they had a huge sampling of people tested - she made labels in different color combinations for different types of fake products, then asked people which one they'd be more likely to buy. She set up at a business with a sign saying "help with my science project, answer 3 questions", and had hundreds of responses to use for her data.

DS's was aerodynamics - he used my videocamera to record different sizes of paper falling from the same distance to track how much area slowed the fall, then used the frames from the video to calculate the the time. Wasn't flashy on the board, but the method was enough to move on to city next.

I love this site- http://www.sciencebuddies.org/

Pinterest! I have a ton pinned - and lo & behold, our new school doesn't do science fair projects, grr!

Try the National Geographic site for kids.

How about, "Do Lima Bean Plants Grow Taller in Sunlight, or in Artificial Light?"
Since lima beans grow pretty quickly, you could start the seeds, and measure each week.

we went to sciencebob.com it was full of all kinds of ideas and for every grade. my oldest is also in 5th and she did a lava lamp but without the light. she made two bottles and now she wants to make more just for fun. you just need a 2 liter bottle, water oil and food coloring. she got 2nd place because we don't have a printer or a camera so she couldn't take pics of the really cool parts. she had to draw them.