Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I want to do a science project about radiation. My Mom recently bought some wool pillows and a blanket from Bulgaria. Last year we learned about Chernobyl in history and about how some countries still have radiation in their soil or sand or there was a fire a couple years ago in the Ukrain and some people thought it spread old radiation. I want to know if there is any chance of radiation in the pillows or blanket. We can't afford a real Geiger counter and my school doesn't have one. I am wondering two things. We can either do a report on other people's scientific hypothesis about a topic or make our own hypothesis. I want to predict how much radioactivity is in the wool somehow but that seems too hard. Maybe there isn't even any. Also, I can't test it.

Does anyone have any ideas about how to make a scientific hypothesis about if there might be some radiation in the pillows and blanket?

Could I make a Geiger counter that would be accurate.

Wow! That sounds really interesting and creative. The answer is yes, you can make your own functional geiger counter. There are many DIY articles online, so I'll let you find one that works for your budget. However, I really doubt the pillow and blanket would have any raditaion so I think you should test other materials, preferably metals. In addition, it's important that you have a negative control, an item or material that will not have any radiation.

Example search terms for Geiger Counter:
How to make simole geiger counter
DIY geiger counter
Homemade geiger counter

Hope that helps!

Thank you for your reply! It is helpful. How accurate will my Geiger counter be? What can I use for a negative control? My teacher says that even bananas are radioactive but it has something to do with potassium. Maybe other fruits are fine for a negative control?