Biology science fair projects
Green stuff on my bread!
Of the biology science fair projects listed on this site, projects that look at organisms under a microscope (or magnifying glass) are, in my opinion, the most fascinating.
Imagine this situation:
You are absolutely starving, so you go to the kitchen and take out the bread so that you can pop a piece in the toaster. As you open the packet with the bread in it, you notice a fluffy green stuff on the bread. This just grosses you out and you immediately close the packet and toss it into the garbage. Suddenly your hunger is not so bad ... Has this happened to you?
The green stuff on the bread is mold, and most people don't stop to think about it but get rid of it as soon as they see it. In this project, you are going to grow mold and then, instead of just tossing it, you are going to look at it ...
Fascinating stuff, mold is! Don't believe me? Well to prove that I am right...
Let's do science...
The project – step by step
In all the biology science fair projects that you have done, most of them would have been about things that you can see clearly. Things like plants and animals. Even insects are easy to see.
You can also see how these organisms live and grow. But with molds, it is different. Although you can see mold, it just looks like fluffy, or velvety stuff that grows on food.
But how does it get there and how does it grow? What does it really look like close up. Lets find out...
The Question
How and why do molds grow and what do they look like close up?
The Hypothesis
Having a close look at mold, I will discover that it looks very different from what I thought and I will also find out what makes it grow.
The Experiments
Growing smelly fluff!!
Why this experiment?
By looking at mold close up, as is done in this experiment, the structure and a glimpse of the life cycle of mold will be discovered. This is enough information obtained to be able to come to a conclusion regarding the hypothesis.
The Conclusion
Mold has different parts that make it up. Some of these parts allow it to reproduce.
“Beef up your project” facts
When you think about mold, the first thing you think of is the yukky stuff on your food that means you have to throw it away, right? Well, mold can also be useful. (In fact, looking at “useful mold” can be a topic for one of your future biology science fair projects.)
One example is Roquefort cheese. Pop a piece of the green stuff that lines this cheese under a microscope and you will see some mold waving back at you. Don't believe me – I dare you to try it out!
Look it up
Look up on the inter-net, or ask someone involved in food manufacturing, what they do to prevent food from going moldy before it is sold in the shop.
More...
Check out some more biology science fair projects as well as many more non-biology science projects for elementary school level.
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