Fair Test Experiment

Your child runs a simple home experiment where they change just one thing at a time and measure the result, such as which paper plane design flies furthest.

How to do it

1. Pick a fun question that can be tested at home, such as which paper plane flies furthest or which cup keeps ice longest.
2. Help your child decide the one thing they will change and the one thing they will keep the same each try, so it is a fair test.
3. Have them predict what will happen and write the prediction down.
4. Run each version a few times, measuring and recording the result the same way every time.
5. Look at the numbers together and ask what they show, and whether the result matched the prediction.

What you need

• Paper and pencil
• Test materials
• Tape measure

Make it yours

Younger, 6 to 8 years: Test just two versions and count rather than measure with a tape. Older, 10 to 12 years: Add more versions, average the tries, and make a simple bar chart of the results. Siblings: One child runs the test while another records, then they swap