1st Prize Winning Science Fair Project Idea

To develop a 1st prize winning science fair project idea you have to think outside of the box. However, you don't have to deal with extremely complex subject, as some of the best winning science experiments and projects examine simple science concepts. If you are determined to take home a blue ribbon this year from your school science fair and don't want to spend all of your time researching complex systems and technologies, then consider completing this project.

The title of this 1st prize winning science fair project idea is "The Stinky Sock." The materials that you will need for this project will include: a variety of used socks, gloves, safety goggles, tongs, bacteria growing medium (agar), a microscope and a project notebook. This project will take several weeks to complete, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to complete it.

The hypothesis for this project is that the smelliness of gym socks is produced by bacteria growing on the socks. The independent variable, or the variable that you will be manipulating will be the smelliness of the socks. Your control sock will be a sock that hasn't been worn and that doesn't smell. Your test socks will need to have been worn and they will need to smell. The dependent variable will be the presence or absence of bacteria.

To complete this 1st prize winning science fair project idea you will need to first set up your bacteria growing Petrie dishes. These dishes will need to be lined with agar, which can be produced by mixing plain gelatin with beef or chicken bouillon. Next you will want to have volunteers run around in gym socks to get them nice and sweaty. After they socks are sweaty allow them to sit on the floor in the locker room overnight or until they begin to smell. You will then wipe the stinkiest part of the socks over your agar sample and close the lid. Allow this culture to grow undisturbed for several days.

Next you will want to complete your control experiment. In this experiment you will swipe your clean sock over an agar culture and close the lid. Allow this experiment to sit undisturbed for several days.

After about two or three days you will examine each Petrie dish and note your observations. If there doesn't seem to be any bacteria growing in your Petrie dishes allow them to develop for a few more days. Note your observations. Did your stinky socks contain bacteria? What about your clean control sock? If no bacterium were found, what caused the socks to smell?

If you are interested in chemistry science fair projects then you can alter the above sock experiment to look at chemical inhibitors that athletes use to keep their feet from smelling. For example, alter your experiment to see how bacteria growth is affected by sprinkling your feet with talcum powder before putting on your gym socks. In this experiment the hypothesis would be that talcum powder inhibits the growth of bacteria.