Science Fair Topics for High School Juniors

Finding an original science fair topic can be difficult.

Every year, high school juniors across the country are expected to come up with topics for their high school science fairs, and every year many students wonder what the heck they should choose as a topic. Junior year is an especially important time for a science fair, as a winning project could help someone get into college --- or get scholarships to college. While many turn to over-used science fair topics that have been thoroughly explored, others seek to find unique topics on which to focus their experiments. Starting from a deep examination of what is interesting and pertinent to a high school junior's life, environment or interests can be a great way to generate original, interesting, and award-winning research.

Science Fair Topics Inspired by Life

A high school junior might do an experiment on the differences between boys and girls.

A high school junior has a lot going on and lives within a complex social world. She's grappling with many ideas and issues, and these can be a rich place to find a science fair topic. Maybe she wonders about the differences between boys and girls, and want to test some of these differences within a controlled environment. Maybe she finds herself often sleep-deprived, and wishes to experiment on sleep deprivation and its effects on performance. There are many daily questions from life that a junior might draw from.

Science Fair Topics Inspired by the Environment

The environment can be a rich source for science fair topics.

Another place juniors might draw their science fair topics from is the environment. We all live within specific bio-regions --- many of which have never been researched --- that could be excellent science fair topics. Studying differences in air quality in a town, or the flora within different waterways, or even investigating the micro-organisms found in different classrooms at school could lead to interesting projects.

Science Fair Topics Inspired from Interests

A student might draw on his interest in video games for a science fair topic.

What does the junior looking for a science fair topic find interesting? Many scientific discoveries across the world have started when someone researches what fascinates him. Perhaps it is video games, which could lead to experiments on fine motor control or empathy. Perhaps it is cell phones, which could lead to experiments on sound and wireless connections.

Science Fair Topics are Everywhere

A high school junior can find their science fair topic almost anywhere they look, as so many thing in the world can generate a hypothesis and be tested. One of the benefits of drawing from a junior's interest, environment, or life, aside from making a unique and excellent project, is that it can help juniors see the world within a scientific context, and understand that the practice and pursuit of scientific inquiry is nearer than they think.

Resources

• Science Fair Project Guide
• Winning Science Fair Projects