I need a science project idea.

[addey411]

I'm in 9th grade Honors Biology, and I need to have an idea ready before the 25th of August. I need something new and different, something that will get the judges attention, but I can't think of anything. Please Help!

[deleted-93346]

For biology, please re-post to the Life Sciences Forum,

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... m.php?f=28

Also, go to

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/

and follow the "Find a Project Idea" link.

Finding something "something new and different" will be, by its very nature, extremely difficult. If I were you, I would look for a university or research lab in my vicinity, then try to find and contact someone doing research in biology, then talk with them to see if there is some area of the labs they are associated with that might have an opening for an intern or something that might grow into a research project. If that's not possible, I would suggest scanning through "Science News" for new research that interests you, then doing some some searching using Google Scholar,

http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en

to find papers on that topic or related areas. Then you could contact the researchers who did the research that caught your attention and see what they would suggest. You will find the great majority of scientists very willing to help you out. But be prepared for 90% "Gee, uh, I'd really like to help, but I can't think of anything that could be done at your level of knowledge and/or access to lab equipment". The other 10% will present golden opportunities, assuming you are up for a lot of hard, frustrating work wth substantial risk of failure.

I wish you luck. It's truly worth the effort to excel!

[donnahardy2]

Hi Addey,

Welcome to Science Buddies! Your topic has now been moved to the Life Sciences forum.

Picking a project topic is sometimes the hardest part of a project, however, if you can identify a subject that you are interested in and then do background reading, you will be able to find a completely unique project idea. It will take work and time this week for you since your deadline is coming soon, but I will explain how to do this.

John Dreher has given you a very helpful link to the project wizard on the Science Buddies website. If you have not done so already, try going through the wizard and look for a project that appeals to you. Look in the bibliography section of the project idea and read as much about the topic as you can. This should help you identify a specific question that you can answer by doing a carefully controlled experiment.

If the project wizard doesn’t work for you, try just browsing through the topics in the Life Science, Behavioral and Social Science, or Earth & Environmental Science sections. There are hundreds of projects to choose from. If you find a good one, then do an internet search and look for related articles that have been published in the scientific literature. You will be looking for a problem that has not been solved yet.

Another good source of inspiration is current news events. Look for local news stories that are science related. This will give you a relevant topic that will be of significant interest to your community. For example, in my community there was an explosion and fire recently that created a huge cloud of toxic smoke. An investigation into a specific aspect of this even would make a very unique project.

And, do you have a specific interest or hobby? I know of a student who loves baseball and she does a prize-winning project on baseball every year.

I hope this gives you some helpful ideas. Please post again and let us know what your specific interests are.

Donna Hardy