Science Fair Projects Inspired by C.S.I

One of the best ways to rise to the top of the science fair is to be unique and interesting. One way to do that is to take advantage of a popular theme these days, crime scene investigation.

Staging, investigating, and solving a crime using science that is easy to describe and demonstrate can be a very good way of setting a science fair project apart from the field. CSI methods of investigation, such as using super glue to find finger prints and math to determine a person's weight and/or height from footprints can be put together to make an entertaining and impressive science fair project.

So, if you are stumped on a science fair project, think about a way that you can use the methods available to CSI and solve your own crime.

Science Fair Advice From Mythbusters

During a recent visit to Mt. Vernon High School, mythbusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage gave students some great advice that can be used to create winning science fair projects.

Hyneman and Savage urged students preparing for the science fair next year to remember that "science doesn't exist in a vacuum."
"There is science and physics all around you," Hyneman said. "Most of what we do on the show is taking an everyday object or scenario and asking why is that the way it is? IT develops into an investigative story."

When asked by a student what they had learned from their work, Savge responded "We're still wrong half the time. Easily 50 percent of the things we set out to do, we have a preconceived notion of what we're going to get and we're totally wrong. Those are the days we're the most jazzed about our job."

So, if you want to create a new, unique and winning science fair project, approach it with curiosity and passion. Find a problem or unique issue in your world and go after it.

Vegetables Help Ink Science Fair Win

In an effort to find a replacement for petrochemical-based inks, two students in Rajkot created a novel and winning high school science fair project.

Pooja Dholakia and Ridhi Dasani of Rajkot's S.G. Dholakia school in Gujarat, India spent 6 months testing and developing inks created from vegetable dyes. The girls decided to do develop the vegetable-based ink when they saw young girls from their school licking the ink from their sketch pens.

Knowing that vegetable dyes are often used on fabrics, the girls believed that they could use them to create a safer form of ink for their pens. Thus, the girls began a process of testing the various dyes from crushed beetroots, turmeric, coriander, and various other vegetables. Upon creating the inks, the girls created a report using the five different inks that they had created during their experiments.

The girls then submitted their creation to the National Science Fair in Pune, winning first place. The girl also hope to develop and market other colors to match the available traditional petrochemical-based selection.

The moral to this story is that a great way to create a winning high school science fair project is to find a solution to a problem you have noticed in your own life. These often turn out to be novel ideas that make them unique among other entries.

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Don't be Afraid to Go Digital

Although conventional wisdom and history often lead students to believe that only the traditional and conventional high school science fair projects, it has been shown that these aren't the only type of projects that can do well.

Joel Knighton, a freshman at Coon Rapids High School in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, has proven that new technology can be accepted and succeed in the world of high school science fair projects. In fact, on Saturday, January 12, 2007, Joel entered a program that he had written for his high school science fair. His program, designed to enable users to embed data and messages in images, not only got the approval of the judges, but he was also presented an award by the US Navy.

This isn't the first time Joel has used his programming skills to create a successful high school science fair project. A program that he wrote last year was good enough to get him to the International Science Fair.

So, if you are looking for an idea for your next high school science fair project, don't be afraid to be unconventional and go digital. It could just be the thing that sets you apart from your competition.

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