List your interests
When beginning your search for a science fair project, you should start by making a list of your true interests. After all, you’ll be spending a lot of time on this project, so you’ll want to find something that you can live with for quite awhile.
Start by brainstorming some ideas and recording them in a pad. Be sure to keep your mind wide open and ask yourself many questions, like what sort of TV shows intrigue you? What do you like to do in your spare time?
Do you like certain animals more than others? Do you like watching shows about sharks or other marine animals? Do you grow plants? Or, perhaps you’re a big sports fan.
Any of these interests can lead to a research question. After all, that is what you need to end up with—a question or puzzle that you can solve in an interesting manner.
Find intriguing facts about each topic
Once you have finished a list of things that interest you, start thinking about some odd or intriguing facts about each topic. If you do like to grow plants, for instance, or if you just think plants are interesting in some way, ask yourself what intrigues you most. Is it the way they grow? Their potential benefits or harm to humans?
Keep brainstorming, jotting down some intriguing facts or ideas related to plants, like the one below. Any of these could lead to a project.
Plants
Follow the same process for any category.
Animals
- Mouse maze
- Do dogs have ESP?
- How do cats jump so high?
- Learning tricks
- Dung beetle/ their life cycle and nutrition
- Bugs and light attraction
- Ants following trails
- Ants’ ability to carry weight
- Insect dyes, such as Cochineal
- Do mosquitoes get drunk?
- Subliminal messages
- Puzzles in morning/night/music
- ESP
- Taste and memory
- Smell and memory
- Placebos
- Magic tricks
- Curiosity tests
- Learning types
- Racing: wind tunnel science
- Racing: downforce and speed
- What leather is best for soccer balls?
- For football?
- Types of baseball pitches
- How do you kick a ball to make it curl?
- How high can a person jump?
- Running: the relationship between height and speed
- Poker hand: odds
- Size of icebergs
- Age of icebergs
- Rogue waves
- Why certain ships sank
- Red tide
- Do twins have special communications?
- How do lost dogs find their way home?
- Could alien visits be real?
- Could life exist on Mars?
Once you pick a few topics that sound interesting, do some quick research to find out how feasible your topic will be. Consider things like:
Is there a point that I can prove?
Will this make an attractive display?
Are there visual items I can use for my display?
Can I make a chart from this information?
Remember, the science fair is a competition, of sorts. Try to select a topic that interests you, but also one that will create an attractive visual experience for the judges.
