What is a Science Fair?

As a middle school student, science fairs are the perfect opportunity to get involved with research and different projects that can show your interests. A science fair is an event where students can research a topic of their choice and show it to a panel of judges, peers, teachers, and the general public. Often, this research is presented in the form of scientific projects, experiments, or reports.

It is also a great opportunity for those interested in other fields to merge their interests with science and engage in interdisciplinary projects! If you’re someone who is interested in computer science and technology, entering a science fair with a tech project could be a great starting point.

What are the elements of a good science project?

It first begins with a journey of discovery, driven by curiosity!

1. Identifying a problem: Through identifying a problem, you can start proposing a relevant hypothesis or raising a relevant question!

2. Conducting research: You should conduct thorough background research and cover multiple aspects of the problem statement / research question.

3. Solid experiment design: The conclusions you will draw will only be as good as your experiment set up and data collection mechanism. You will be judged on how well you follow scientific methods of experiment design.

4. Data collection, documentation and analysis: using the right analytical and statistical tools will be important, so be sure to figure out your skill sets and bridge any gaps.

5. Presenting findings: This would mean presentations, focusing on communications, and thinking through potential questions.

Last, but certainly not the least, understand and think through any ethical questions in your experiment.

It is important to note that projects you work on will likely require you to have basic programming skills. This would mean a foundational understanding of programming concepts like variables, loops, conditional statements, functions, and at least one programming language. 

However, there are some great tech projects that are great for you if you are looking to get started! 

1. Smart Home Weather Station 

You could build a weather monitoring system that could use sensors to collect and track temperature, humidity, and rainfall data. By tracking this data, you could get insight into local weather patterns and you can choose to do further research on this, e.g. how does weather patterns affect XX in my city! 

Do note that to create such a project, you will require a temperature sensor like DHT11, a humidity sensor and a rain gauge to accurately give you this data. 

Skill Level: Beginner

Prior Knowledge Required: Knowledge of basic programming languages (e.g. Python, JavaScript) 

Limitations: Your project’s scope will be limited to basic weather data collection so there isn’t much room for complexity. 

2. AI-Powered Plant Disease Tracker

A disease tracker is helpful for farmers and casual gardeners as they can upload pictures of plants to detect any diseases. Your program can use image-based detection to identify any defect in the plant and suggest treatment accordingly. You can also add a community chat feature where more experienced farmers can give their advice!

A project you could take inspiration from is Prisha Bhat who won 1st Place in Agriculture and Food Security in the 2023 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Her project explores how genetically-modified rice results in the breakdown of arsenic in natural environments. 

Skill Level: Beginner

Prior Knowledge Required: Knowledge of basic programming languages (Python, web development experience would also help). 

Limitations: The detection accuracy is highly dependent on the quality of the image

3. AI Recipe Developer 

This is a beginner-friendly topic where your bot can suggest recipes based on available ingredients! You could include a health analysis where the bot can analyze the nutritional count, macronutrients, and more. You could also add a feature where your bot can suggest ingredients from different sites that complement the recipes you choose to do. 

If you want to challenge yourself, add an ingredient substitution feature where your bot recommends different ingredients based on your allergens or preference! An existing app that does recipe development is Yummly; however, you have to pay to unlock all of the features. 

Skill Level: Beginner

Prior Knowledge Required: Knowledge of basic programming skills (e.g., Python, JavaScript) 

Limitations: You might only cover some possible recipes or ingredients (e.g., Being unaware of regional recipes and ingredients)

4. Virtual Reality Museum Tour

If you enjoy visiting museums, you should consider developing a virtual reality application where users can get an interactive museum tour. You could add details about the exhibits and objects, even given virtual brochures for information. 

To stand out, you could add interactive features such as a historical reenactment or allow users to compare each exhibition to other museums worldwide. If you are interested in history, this project is perfect for you! 

Skill Level: Basic

Prior Knowledge Required: Knowledge of programming languages such as Unity, C#, or similar languages.

Limitations: You will have to integrate your app with VR hardware. 

5. Video Game through Scratch

You could create a basic video game through Scratch and focus on the game mechanics and storytelling. Some easy ideas through Scratch are quiz games, maze games or memory games!

To stand out, you could use your game to help your community - e.g, creating a memory video game for children that allows them to learn words! For inspiration, the project section of the GirlsWhoCode website has some great examples. 

Skill Level: Basic

Prior Knowledge Required: Knowledge of the programming language Scratch. 

Limitations: Limited complexity due to Scratch’s simplicity. 

6. Mobile App for Learning a Language

Similar to the previous idea, you could create an app solely for learning a language. Your app can focus on learning vocabulary and the native pronunciation. You can get inspiration from apps such as Duolingo and add your own twist by adding different creative elements. For example, you could create an app with a character who goes through different stages, with every stage covering a different difficulty! 

Skill Level: Basic

Prior Knowledge Required: Knowledge of basic programming languages such as Python or JavaScript. 

b: You might struggle with finding someone for native pronunciation and the languages you can cover in your app will be very limited. 

7. AI Athlete Performance Tracker 

This is another project for beginners where you can develop a basic mobile app that allows athletes to input their training statistics. This could include their workout routines, daily timings, and vitals. Over time, the app could analyze this data and give athletes insights into their performance. Moreover, it can provide suggestions for areas the athlete needs to improve.

There are a lot of Athlete Performance Trackers, such as Sports Performance Tracking and STAT Sports. You can create a virtual coach to provide real-time feedback during workouts to make your project unique. An alternate option is to predict any injuries based on the athlete's physical condition!

Skill Level: Beginner
Prior Knowledge Required: Knowledge of basic programming skills (e.g., Python, Web development)
Limitations: The accuracy of the data is based on the inputs given by athletes, which can be manipulated. 

8. App to Assist the Elderly 

For another project that caters to the community, you could create an app to help the elderly in your area. It could give them basic tutorials on using technology, tracking their health, and sending signals if their vitals are dropping.

This project combines existing apps such as Pill Reminder Pro or Senior Safety App (which allows caregivers to monitor the elderly from their phones). Another fun feature would be a chat where the elderly can communicate with younger people, ask for help, or have some company! 

Students like Kosha Upadhyay, Bellevue Senior High School, won third place in May 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) with her project that cognitively profiles individuals and personalized therapy recommendation for dementia patients!

Skill Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: Knowledge of basic programming languages (e.g., Python, JavaScript)
Limitations: To effectively monitor vitals, you might need to integrate your app with hardware (Note. This is a unique idea that can be integrated with smartwatches!) 

9. AI Health Assistant 

You can use AI to create an app that can act as an assistant - making medical appointments, tracking users' vitals, recovering previous records, and tracking health data. If you are into health sciences, this is a good introduction tousing medical data to give viable medical advice!

A more advanced form of this project is Doctor.AI - an AI-powered bot that processes patient symptoms, identifies correct treatment, and acts as an assistant physician! A project in this topic was done by Lakshika Nanda Kumar Reddy who used Machine Learning to detect cataracts from front-view retinal images. Her project won 3rd place in the Global Health category of the 2023 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)!

Skill Level: Intermediate

Prior Knowledge Required: Knowledge of basic programming languages (e.g., Python, JavaScript) 

Limitations: Cannot substitute medical advice and can only be used for tracking historical data compared to prescribing treatment. 

10. IoT Home Automation 

You could create an IoT Home Automation system which controls certain household features through a smartphone, e.g. switching on lights or fans. In this project, you will use sensors, microcontrollers and IoT communication protocols to create a smart network that can remotely manage these appliances!

Another option is to use the same principles and create a watering system for your household garden! Although, you would have to be careful to ensure that all the plants you’re watering require the same amount of water. 

Skill Level: Intermediate

Prior Knowledge Required: You will require a thorough understanding of IoT communication protocols and have a detailed knowledge of programming languages. 

Limitations: The detection accuracy is highly dependent on the quality of the image

You can build these projects through Veritas AI’s 1-1 mentorship program! 

Founded by Harvard graduate students, Veritas AI gives you the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of computer science and AI. You get a chance to work 1-1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Oxford, and more to write research papers or build unique projects. Last year, we had over 1000 students apply to do AI work with us, and our alums went on to study computer science and AI at top universities. You can find the application form here.

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