How to Find Original Science Fair Project Ideas

Do you want to come up with a truly original science fair project that is all your own and not one out of a book or used by another student? Here's advice that may help stimulate your creativity.

Find a Topic That Interests You

What interests you? Food? Video games? Dogs? Football? The first step is to identify subjects that you like. Another option is to identify a problem. Is the electric bill too high? Does the lawn use too much water in the summer? Consider finding a problem and exploring possible solutions.

Ask Questions

Original ideas start with questions. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Which? You can ask questions such as:

Does ____ affect ____ ?

What is the effect of _____ on _____ ?

How much ____ is required to _____ ?

To what extent does ____ affect ____ ?

Designing an Experiment

Can you answer your question by changing only one factor? If not, then it will save you a lot of time and energy to ask a different question. Can you take measurements or do you have a variable you can count such as yes/no or on/off? It is important to be able to take measurable data rather than rely on subjective data. You can measure length or mass, for example, but it is hard to measure human memory or factors such as taste and smell.

Try brainstorming ideas. Think of topics that interest you and start asking questions. Write down variables that you know you can measure. Do you have a stopwatch? You could measure time. Do you have a thermometer? You could measure temperature? Cross out any questions that you can't answer. Pick the remaining idea that you like the best or try this exercise with a new subject. It may not be easy at first, but with a little practice, you'll be generating lots of original ideas.