Science Fair Projects

Here are a few science fair projects dealing with food that won prizes in their local contests. 

- Which gender has more sensitive taste buds? (elementary school) The student set up an experimental taste test using several different flavors of a popular brand of jelly beans. Her hypothesis was that girls would be better able to distinguish the different tastes. 

- Will people change their choice of meal at a fast food restaurant when given nutrition facts? (middle school) The hypothesis was that knowing how many calories and how much fat was in a meal would lead people to change their minds and buy healthier food. 

- Do conventionally grown fruits have higher levels of toxins than organically grown fruit? (high school) The student investigated whether there were higher levels of toxins in the conventionally grown produce, even after washing. The experiment looked at whether there was a difference in the life spans of fruit flies fed organic versus conventional fruit.   

 These examples were creative and interesting ideas for science projects. However, keep in mind that simply having a good science fair project idea is not enough. You must also know how to state your hypothesis, design and perform your experiment using the scientific method, and analyze and present the results. Learn more about doing science fair projects. 

 Winning science fair project ideas

Many students want to do science fair projects. For others, it’s an assignment they would rather not have. In either case, the first step is to choose a great science fair project idea.

There are already many websites that have lists of suggested topics,  so I’m not going to repeat those here. Instead, I think that the best way to find great ideas is to look at science fair projects that actually won a prize. 

There are two places to find these projects. The first is by searching through the published media. The second is from you, the readers. If you would like your winning project listed here, simply describe it using the comments area or in an e-mail. Great science fair project ideas and topics will be chosen from those submitted.

I know that science fair projects can be a challenge, so I hope this blog helps get you started.