Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi! I'm Hannah, and I'm asking for some help on choosing a science project topic. I haven't found a project yet that is practical, feasible, and interesting all at once, and I just needed some advice. I'm in tenth grade, and my project is not due for about two months, I think, but my topic is due in three days. A side note, my favorite areas of science are human behavior and psychology, optics (especially dealing with colors), and waves and acoustics (especially harmony and dissonance). About human behavior and psychology, I am homeschooled, so my contact with people is fairly limited, so if there is any way a project can be done about humans, without, that many...humans, that would be great, but if not, that is really okay. The project needs to be at least two or three weeks in length. Microbiology is also a possible option for me, but I would probably need some help finding some supplies. Thank you ahead of time, and if there aren't any ideas for me, that's okay; thank you anyway!
P.S. The weather here is about to start to get cold, so it might not be easy to do a project on plants, but if there is a way to grow the plants inside, that would be great!

Hi Hannah,

I'm not sure how useful you'll find this, but have you tried looking through the Science Fair Project Ideas on our website? https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... deas.shtml
You can either browse all projects, search for particular subjects, or use our "Topic Selection Wizard" to help you come up with recommendations. I think you should still be able to do a project on human behavior in spite of being homeschooled if that is what you are interested in. You may need to make more of an effort to find subjects, but it sounds like you have enough time. Also, not all topics on humans will need lots of humans, or will test humans directly. Also, there are a number of resources to help you get reagents for certain microbiology projects. We often recommend Carolina Biologicals, so you may be able to find what you need there.

Spend some time browsing and searching the Science Fair Project ideas and see if anything appeals to you, or gives you any ideas of your own. Once you've narrowed it down slightly, we'd be happy to help you refine it and suggest places to get supplies, etc.

I hope this helps and good luck!
JMP

Hi Hannah,

My daughter is homeschooled, too! So, I understand the difficulty of not having a full school lab around to do your science fair project. Work out with your parents what your science budget is, and shop around. Lots of science fair projects can be done with supplies from thrift shops and Home Depot. Home Training Tools is a science vendor which sells chemicals and supplies in small quantities to homeschoolers. (Carolina is awesome, but a lot of that site is geared for those buying in larger, classroom quantities.) I know Home Training Tools will have tuning forks and other sound supplies (I was shopping for my kids' physics labs for this year). Amazon is also excellent for odd bits and bobs.

For example, Amazon will sell you an indoor plant light bulb for 13.99
http://www.amazon.com/Hydroponic-Full-S ... 005P29K1S/

In terms of topic selection, start with interesting, then figure out "practical and feasible" later. You might start by browsing websites like New Scientist or Science News and see what sort of headlines grab you. Then, work down from there. For example, last year my daughter read an article about a scientist that simulated clouds on Mars by using a cloud chamber created inside a decommissioned nuclear reactor in Germany. Not even remotely feasible, but very interesting! It inspired her to read more about clouds on Mars and eventually find a feasible project in that area. Actually, pretty much every idea my daughter has had since she became obsessed with Mars has left me scratching my head -- how in the world can she do a project on THAT??? But, the internet is a wonderful thing and we have had luck with NASA educational outreach, science buddies, and just emailing scientists when we find something interesting on their websites. Be friendly, interested, and polite in your queries, and ask for small favors, not huge commitments of time, and you'll probably get a response from any professor you email, though not always very quickly.

Humans... Be sure to read up on any rules for human subjects in your science fair rules before doing a project requiring humans. I hope you have some contact with humans! My kids did a project on running one year just recruiting kids at a neighborhood playground. We set up start and finish lines and timed and observed random volunteers running barefoot and with their shoes on. They were little, and the science fair wasn't particular about human subject rules like a high school fair might be, though. Think about places you go with other humans. Could you recruit your brother's soccer team to look at a bunch of optical illusions and see how they perceive color, for example? To make things easier, think about small commitments from your humans -- it's easier to get a volunteer for a 5 minute test than a 5 hour one.

I hope this gives you some ideas to think about. Good luck!

Thank you both for all of your advice, especially about human behavior experiments (and yes ma'am, Mrs. Janet, I do have plenty of contact with humans for me; I didn't mean to say that I am kept in the house all the time--I just meant that I do not have contact with many humans every day. ). To JMP, yes, I have looked through the Science Fair Ideas under the filters that I needed (longer experiments, etc.), but I will do that again, looking with a broader-minded approach. I admit I have probably been too picky, and I agree that I needed to put more effort into finding subjects. There are probably more people that I know who would be willing to do a quick test than I realized. To janet_425, I have looked at Home Training Tools; it is an awesome website, and I just probably need to research a little more on which supplies to get and how to use them. That is cool about your daughter being interested in Mars; it is so neat how God gives us all different interests that will most likely affect how we affect the world in the future (maybe she will be a rocket scientist!). Thank you for your tips on human behavior projects and the other things!
I really appreciate both of your time and consideration; you have given me a lot more to work with!
Have a blessed night (or day)!
~Hannah