Root Hair Kids Science Fair Projects

Root hair kids science fair projects deal with the tiny hairs on a plant's roots. These tiny hairs use capillary action to draw water and nutrients up from the soil into the plant. These projects are very informative, however, they can also be a little dull, especially if the visuals for the project are limited to graphs and texts. Below are five ideas for interesting visual elements that you can add to your botany science experiment display board to make your project more interesting.

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The first visual elements that you can develop for your root hair kids science fair projects are drawings. The best drawings for this type of project will illustrate the tiny root hairs on a plant's root. You will also want to include drawings or diagrams of how water and nutrients are absorbed by the root hairs and then distributed throughout the plant. Finally, you can draw a picture of a cross section of a root system that includes a cross sectional look at the root hairs. Make sure you label each part of the root clearly.

Another visual element that you can develop for your root hair kids science fair projects is a collection of photographs. Photographs are great for this type of project, especially if you are able to take close ups of the tiny root hairs. Digital cameras work well for close up shots, as you can not only utilize the camera lens' ability to zoom in, but you can also use the digital zoom to blow up the image further. Some of the photographs that you will want to use for your display board include: the set up of your experiment, the equipment you used, stages of your experiment, close ups of root hairs and root systems and photographs of each step of your experiment.

The third visual element that you can develop for your biochemistry science fair projects is a working model of root hairs. The easiest way to tackle this visual challenge is to use pipettes to demonstrate how capillary action works. As you deliver your oral presentation, or as you answer questions from the judges, you can demonstrate how root hairs work. This will show the judges that you actually learned something from your experiment. It will also help to add a unique entertainment factor to your project's design.

A real life sample is another option that you have for adding value to your science fair project. For root hair experiments you will want to display real root hairs for the judges to examine. One way to do this is to grow a plant in a Dixie cup and then cut the cup in half to expose the root system. Tape a piece of plastic wrap over the exposed portion so that the root system is still visible, while containing the dirt and moisture in the cup. Another option that you have is to remove the root system from a plant and to place it between two pieces of plexiglass. This will flatten out the root system and allow you to adhere labels to various parts of the root system, including the root hairs.

Since root hairs are so tiny, having a microscope at your science fair project station is a good idea. You can then prepare a slide with root hairs for the judges to look at. As the judges look at the root hairs under the microscope you can explain what they are looking at and how the root hairs work. You can also point out unique structural features of the root hairs and answer any questions that the judges may come up with.

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