The
following science fair project ideas were
compiled and created by Eric Krieg, President
of the Philadelphia
Association for Critical Thinking
(PhACT). The ideas are for young people,
ages 10-15 years.
Astrology
Project:
Get
a $10 program and 10 volunteers who are
not familiar with their sign, have people
see if they can figure out which reading
is theirs for the previous week. The trick
is to have people try to pick which one
best describes them. Based on probability
theory, do the results show what would
be expected by chance?
Resources
on Astrology: http://www.phact.org/e/astrolgy.htm
Super
car mileage:
See
if car mileage changes if you strap a
magnet on a fuel line. You would need
your parents to help keep mileage records.
More on this subject at http://www.phact.org/e/dennis27.htm
Laundry
balls:
See
if these magic little balls really help
washing machines clean better (under double
blind tests) than either nothing or soap.
You could display purposely stained and
soiled clothes washed with either magnetized
water, regular water or water and soap.
There
is information on what I consider bogus
laundry balls at Laundry
Balls
Pyramids:
See
if seeds germinate faster under one than
seeds not under one.
ESP:
Find
out if classmates can pick up telepathic
messages more often than what is expected
by chance.
See
also Eric's ESP
Testing Page
Magnet
water:
See
if an area of grass watered with magnetized
water grows better than regular water.
TV
ghosts:
Tune
into a "nothing" channel - see
if people can really see that an image
keeps drifting (pick a direction). Or
if you can convince people they can cause
the pattern to change - there is a common
psychological tendency for people to make
meaning out of randomness. Discuss the
tendency for human beings to find patterns
where there are none.
Can
yogurt prevent infectious diseases?
Many
people feel that left over DNA fragments
from bacteria (which yogurt is made from)
activate the bodies immune system. Some
cultures of people who eat yogurt are
known for longevity. It may be that if
you get two groups of mice and mix in
yogurt into the feed of one group and
then after a few weeks dunk both cages
in dirty pond water for 20 seconds, that
the treated group would have a much higher
survival rate. (Note, there may be some
more humane way to expose the mice to
"infectious challenges" - but remember,
that rodents have caused a lot more misery
to humans through spreading plague than
we will ever cause them).
