Playing Detective

If you love a good mystery, a forensic-based science project may be the way to go. A forensic anthropologist is someone who can help solve a crime examining skeletal remains to determine the age, gender, race and height of the person. One good forensic-based science project is measuring the femur bone to determine how they compare to a person's height and gender. To do this project, you will need 20 volunteers, a tape measure, pencil and paper. Record each person's height and then measure the femur, or the long bone that stretches from the hip socket to the knee. Record your results and try to determine if and how the length of the bone corresponds to a person's height. (See References 1)

Do Looks Count?
According to an article by Catherine Rampell in the November 22, 2010 edition of "The New York Times," attractiveness is a factor when looking for a job. For this project, you will try to prove or disprove this theory. Look through magazines and cut out several pictures of men and women. Half of your photos should be of highly attractive individuals and the other half should be of less attractive individuals. To control for other biases, make sure the photos depict well-dressed people of approximately the same age and race. Ask volunteers to imagine that they had to hire one or more of these people for a job. Record who they would pick and why. Determine if looks really do matter, and, if so, whether men or women benefit more from an appearance-based bias. (See References 2)

Human Vs. Dog

If you've ever wondered who has the dirtier mouth -- a human or a dog -- then this project is for you. To find out, you will need to purchase some petri dishes, a substance known as agar that will make your bacteria grow and cotton swabs. Swab inside the mouth of each volunteer -- both human and canine -- and place the specimen in the dish. Then wait a week or so for bacteria to grow. Then you can record your findings and draw your conclusions. (See References 4)

All in the Family

Everyone has a unique fingerprint, but do certain print similarities run in families? For this experiment, you will take fingerprint samples from five or more different families and see if you can find similarities between parents and children. You will need an ink pad, index cards and a magnifying glass. Look for circular patterns, arches and mounds, and then note any distinct patterns children share with parents. Determine whether there is a link between genetics and fingerprints by comparing fingerprints between family members and non-family members

Expansion
Find a long-necked bottle with an opening similar in size to an egg, but small enough that it can't fall inside. Boil and peel one egg. Light three matches and drop them into the bottle at the same time. Place the egg over the top of the bottle. It will fall through the opening, demonstrating how liquids and solids expand. When the matches heat the air inside the bottle, the air expands, taking up more room. When the matches extinguish, the air cools and takes up less room in the bottle. This creates lower

pressure inside the bottle than the air pressure outside. The higher air pressure outside forces the egg through the opening.

Blue Skies
Do a science project that explains why the sky appears blue. Add a teaspoon of milk to a glass of water. Shine a light above the water and look at the side of the glass. Move the light to the side and then below the glass and look through the liquid directly at the light. The color of the liquid will change depending on how you view it. This effect is called Rayleigh Scattering. The milk particles scattered, which dispersed the light. When you looked at the side with the light above, it appeared blue. When you look at the light directly from above or from the side, it appeared red because the blue light scattered to the sides. Rayleigh scattering takes place when the particles are smaller than the wavelength of light hitting them. Blue light from the sun scatters better when it hits particles in the air because it has a smaller wavelength than red light. Because it reaches your eye from all over, the sky appears blue.

Forensic Science
Forensic dentists use dental records to aid investigators in identifying suspects in a crime. To show this process in a science project, gather about 10 subjects. Have each bite into a separate piece of chocolate. Label the chocolate numerically and ask subjects to write their names on the back of the label. Then have subjects bite into foam plate to make impressions of their teeth. Label the top and the bottom impressions for each set of bite marks. Study the foam impressions. Count the teeth. Make note of spaces, points, and crooked or broken teeth, and compare with the chocolate pieces to determine which subject bit each piece of chocolate.

Heat and Light

Determine whether the color of clothes you wear affects how much heat your body will absorb. Fill several jars with water and leave them until the water is room temperature. Select different colors of construction paper, both light and dark, and wrap one color around each jar. Punch a hole in the lid of the first jar and insert a thermometer so that the end is immersed in the water. Seal the hole with clay and place the jar in front of a heat lamp. Check the temperature after 30 minutes. Repeat this process two more times and record your results. Repeat the experiment with the remaining jars. Did color make a difference in the temperature of the water?