What does it have to refer too?
Judy

DD(11) is doing one on whether egg producers are accurate in measuring eggs. Its going to be easier than we thought-I didn't realize eggs are measured into small, medium, large, etc by the weight of the dozen, not the size of the egg.

She did one a couple of years ago on how to make static electricity. People could walk up and try a couple of different things.

What are the 'rules' for the science project?

At my kids' school, the static electricity one that lisa_fla mentions would not be allowed as it is a display and not an experiment.

Our science fair requires an experiment. The student has to have a question and set about to get an answer.

WAY back in the day, I did a science project on whether filtered colored light affects plant growth. I bought different colored cellophane and tested which plants grew better, etc. Turns out plants grow best in regular ol' light. Who knew? :) Anyway, I dressed the project up and got a good grade, from what I can recall.

my son did very well years ago with one on which detergent cleaned the best. He took 6 white tube socks, and dirtied them, then used 6 different detergents and following the manufacturers instructions to a t washed them each separately.

Found out arm and hammer did the worst job.

Tide did worse than All.

I'm trying to think of some that I saw at my son's school last year. One was a comparision with the teeth whitener toothpastes. Another was a set of like plants with different music blasting around them for a few weeks. Not sure if it was done intentionally but the Rock n Roll one looked pretty beat.

You know what they say about that Rock N Roll lifestyle...lol.
MsMagoo, there are quite a few listed on this Kid's Science Site, you might find something here that sparks your kiddo's interest...
if not, there seems to be a fair amount on Science Fair Projects on google, only one that I saw charges for the information, all the others are free.
Hope this helps.
Suzan J

Here is a link that might be useful: Science Fair Projects

My DD won her 8th grade science fair with the project:

"What material goes down best on a playground slide?"

Get two plants. Find out how one plant reacts to a lack of light by putting it in a dark closet 24-7, the other plant in a light location. They should be treated the same otherwise (water or any other attention). Make sure she demonstrates some research about why plants need sunlight and how it is used by the plant--photosynthesis. She should make a chart showing changes Day 1, Day 2, etc.

How do our shadows change during the day? (as the Sun moves, errr, I mean the Earth turns). Have DD stand in the same place several times during the day from early morning to sundown. Trace the length and direction of her shadow. You could take photographs of this which would make a nice addition to her display. (I assume she is using the tri-fold cardboard display common in most science fairs.) She could make a chart of the length of her shadow at each measurement. Graphs/charts are always good. Be sure to measure in metric system and include research about the motions of the Earth & Sun.

You could test different foods for starch using iodine. Be sure to supervise. I'm sure you can find this one somewhere on the internet. Research about carbohydrates & starches.

Do cut flowers in 7-up (or one of those floral products) really last longer than flowers in plain water?

Does the project have to be approved before she does it? Above suggestions may be too easy for her grade level, but it is also an exercise in following directions, using the scientific method--question, research, hypothesis, etc. Make sure she participates every step of the way!

We just did a "fun" experiment by using cabbage water to indicate the pH of different solutions.

You chop purple cabbage and boil it with enough water to cover. Then strain it and keep the juice. Freeze it in ice cube trays.

When you are ready to do the experiment, place several solutions in clear glasses and drop in a cube or two of cabbage water. It will turn colour depending on the rating.

PH Colour
2 Red
4 Purple
6 Violet
8 Blue
10 Blue-Green
12 Greenish-yellow

We tested tap water, lemonade (lemon juice and water), and a mixture of baking soda and water.

It wasn't hard to do and the colours are more vibrant than I expected. Perhaps she could tailor this experiment towards something appropriate for her project? Like testing rain water or water from various places? Or making solutions of acid or basic water, passing them through various filters, and testing with the indicators to see if anyting was removed and the result is different? Something like that.

Our area science fair projects have to start with an hypothesis, and continue through to the conclusion. I recall two really cute ones at our elementary school when some 1st graders did them and clearly the parents gave their child the lead and did not do the project for their child.

The first was whether plants thrive when you water them with salad dressing or with water. The process included lots of pictures, and what do you know, the ones watered with salad dressing did not do well!

The other was also cute. This little kid wanted to know if people's fingerprints were alike or if they varied. So the kid cut up little squares of colored paper on which he or she imprinted one family member's fingerprints per square. Clearly the child had managed the gathering of fingerprints too, as each paper square had the same smudgy blob of fingerprints, though each was labeled with a different family member's name--mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, and siblings. Well, the smears looked quite similar, so the conclusion of this experiment was that fingerprints are all alike! So cute!

One of my nieces did one where she planted two sets of seeds (of the same kind in the same potting medium). She watered one set with tap water and the other set with microwaved tap water (cooled, of course). She tracked the growth rates.

How about something that will really perk up peoples interest? Have her go around the school and take a swab of things to test like doorknobs, drinking fountains, library books, basketballs. Then grow the bacteria in a culture to see what germs are on these things. Then clean them with various "sanitizers" and go back 24 hours later, and swab again and put down in culture, to see what grew back.