Myth Busters: The Truth is Out There

Appropriate for Students in Grades 3-5

What do I need to do?


  1. Choose one of the “science myths” that interests you
  2. Design a creative and accurate demonstration, experiment, or model to “bust” the myth and explain the “real science” to your audience. Remember … you want to change their thinking …. permanently.
  3. Create a presentation that teaches others the truth about your science myth !

→ This can be on a science fair board OR a digital presentation.

Be Ready for STEM Expo…

  • Be an expert - practice your presentation
  • Be sure your model, demonstration or experiment is accurate & creative!
  • Make sure you share where you got your information!
  • Make sure your presentation** is neat and attractive

** Parent help is encouraged!


Physical Science Myths:

  • forces always produce observable effects
  • the larger the magnet, the greater the force.
  • light travels from the eyes to the object
  • energy can disappear or be stopped
  • gases are not matter
  • molecules in a solid do not move
  • mass and weight are the same thing
  • solids are always heavier than liquids
  • all substances melt, freeze, and boil at the same temperatures
  • gases have no mass
  • the volume of irregular-shaped objects cannot be measured.
  • freezing and boiling are examples of new substances forming
  • mass determines how quickly gravity pulls an object down
  • if an object is not moving, no forces are acting upon it.

Life Science Myths:

  • all insects have the same stages in their life cycles
  • same species living in different habitats always look and behave the same
  • overpopulation of a species can be harmful and change an environment.
  • only animals have structures to defend themselves
  • plants get their food from the soil
  • space is not a basic need of organisms
  • only humans are responsible for the destruction of habitats and ecosystems
  • predators are always larger than their prey
  • stable ecosystems have similar population sizes of predators and prey

Earth and Space Science Myths

  • humans lived at the same time as the dinosaur
  • organisms are not related to/descendants of extinct organisms.
  • fossils are always bones left from dead animals
  • weather and climate are the same thing
  • waves are caused by Earth’s tides.
  • aquatic fossils are only found under oceans
  • landforms form quickly and are destroyed quickly
  • volcanoes and earthquakes only occur at plate boundaries
  • mountain chains do not change as the Earth’s plates move
  • natural gas and gasoline are the same thing and come from the same sources
  • the sun is the largest star
  • all stars are the same size and that stars in a constellation are close to each other
  • the sun moves across the sky
  • stars and constellations appear in the same place in the sky every night
  • the Sun disappears at night and that the Moon disappears during the day
  • once water has been used that it is gone forever
  • most of the water on Earth is freshwater