With school back in full swing, many of our young beloved students will be needing (or wanting) to engage in their school’s science fair. Or, as it stands today, may be required to get to work on a science project. While great for the kids, parents often dread the stressful, headache-inducing science fair. Well, like with everything else I do here, I’m here to help make it easy!
What a better way to get a science fair project or a science project in general done than with a microscope!
What are some advantages of using a microscope for your child’s science fair project? Well, it can spark their interest in a whole new world invisible to the naked eye; and seeing your child truly learning and having an interest in science growing is one of the most rewarding growth experiences to have at that age.
Also, who doesn’t like a great grade on their science project? Using a microscope (especially with a camera) can really help your student get an edge on their competition (or classmates), as they can get access to never before seen imagery to use on their board or report. To a teacher, using a microscope for a science project (or to a judge for a science fair project) shows that not only did the student put in the effort to learn about the sample(s) they’re showing, but they also took the time to learn about microscopes as well. It’s a win win all around.
Science Fair Project Ideas for Kids (with Microscopes)
So, with that said, who’s ready for a few science fair project ideas to get your started, that are less common than the normal mold and pond water experiments! If you don’t have a microscope yet, be sure to check out my Best 3 Student Microscope Values of 2014 post–I did the research for you already!
Science Fair Project Idea 1: What does money have to prevent counterfeiting? (Stereo Microscope)
Items Needed:
- UV Black Light (Optional)
- $1, $5, $10, and/or $20 bills (Fresh ones ideally)
- Silver Dollar, Dollar Coin, Quarter, Dime, Nickel, and/or Penny
- Simple Stereo Microscope (such as the SE303-PZ)*
- Microscope USB Camera (I recommend an MU035 or MU130)*
*Note: Normally I would suggest using a magnifying glass to simply view the features we’re going to look for, however there isn’t a way to easily share your student’s findings with his/her peers without a camera and microscope setup. It may be more expensive, but the microscope is extremely versatile and can be used for just about any application in the future.
1. Begin by setting up your microscope and becoming familiar with it. If you don’t opt to get the SE303-PZ, please be aware prior to purchasing that you need a stereo microscope to proceed with this project, not a compound microscope. A compound microscope will not be able visualize the coins since they’re opaque (can’t pass light through) and the dollar bills don’t pass enough light to be seen easily.
2. Start with the the coins. Use your lowest denomination coin by placing it onto your microscope stage and setting the magnification to the minimum setting. Center it in the field of view as best as you can by eye (usually the center area of the light underneath the lenses is the central point).
3. Look into the microscope (or on the screen if using a USB camera equipped stereo microscope) and adjust the focusing knobs until the coin comes into clear view. You might not be able to see the full coin depending on what magnification level you have available on your microscope.
4. In particular, pay attention to the printing marks on the coin. Coins tend to be difficult to counterfeit due to the minerals used in them, as well as their weight and size, but often times the minting process leaves other markings on the coin that aren’t typical–these are what coin collectors and counterfeit investigators can look for to help determine authenticity. Capture an image of any of these kinds of markings to use for the science fair project.
5. Move from your lower magnification to your higher magnification settings when taking pictures of any unique markings on the coin–the more detail you can get, the better. Then, go from denomination of coin to denomination of coin and check all for any marks. Do you notice any serial numbers or unique identifiers for them? Probably not–coins typically are made with a press, so to save time on retooling that press (which is very expensive), typically they’re minted as identical coins.
6. Another interesting facet of a coin is the edge. You can see the transition between the minerals used to create the coin, which is also another point of authenticity–it’s very difficult to create an coin identical to the mineral sandwich that the coins are made from. Extra credit opportunity to discuss the different minerals used on each type of coin!
7. Moving on to the dollar bills is where we can get pretty technical, which is a great opportunity for your science fair project to really shine. Dollar bills are extremely complex documents (called legal tender), which contain numerous tricks and traps to help catch counterfeiters (or ideally, prevent them from attempting to create illegal currency). Take your smallest denomination of dollar bill and place it on the microscope stage. Ideally, use the flattest ones possible, or new from the bank if possible, so that you can easily focus on the sample without having to hold it down.
8. What kind of tricks or traps are used on dollars? Well, even I personally don’t know them all–if it was common knowledge, criminals would have a much easier time devising a method to recreate it. But, a few are obvious and easy to see–especially with a stereo microscope to aid you. Take a look at the serial numbers on the dollar bill–each one has a unique designation to prove it’s authenticity, just like any other product. There are also watermarks–marks made on the material before it’s bleached/dyed/stained/glossed, so they show up only when a specific amount of light is passing through the dollar bill. What kind of watermarks can you find on the various denominations? Even better if you can capture a few using the microscope! Note that the black light can be used to help view watermarks with greater ease if you’re having a hard time, but is not absolutely necessary.
9. What about the materials used in the dollar bill? Well, it feels like paper, and looks like paper, but it behaves in a different manner than paper–a much more durable manner. This is because it’s not paper at all. Dollar bills are made with cotton and linen primarily, interweaved with mineral alloys in various patterns. The unique fiber structure of a dollar is part of what makes it so difficult to recreate. What color fibers can you see with your microscope? Your magnification might not be high enough with this kind of a microscope, but try your best to see Change to a higher magnification if you need to, and capture images of what you find. These are great discussion points to surprise the science fair project judges, or your child’s teacher/peers.
10. The images are where the points are to be won, so be sure to take lots of extremely detailed photos for printing on your posterboard! This (having a microscope) is what will make the world of difference between your science fair project, and someone else’s less detailed one. Be sure to explain your findings in a caption for each picture as well–just pictures won’t carry you to the gold!
This science fair project idea is far less common than the usual bread mold experiment, so it is certain to help build you (or your student) some extra creativity points!
Science Fair Project Idea 2: Blood Cell Analysis
Items needed:
- Lancet Device (For drawing small amounts of blood)
- Universal Lancets
- Elenco Slide Making Kit (Includes slides, coverslips, and a dropper)
- Compound Light Microscope with USB Camera (M500 & MU130 are ideal)
- Willing Participants (Blood Samples, at least 3)
1. Setup the microscope according to the instructions that came with it. Usually, this just means plugging it into the wall for power (or installing batteries) and installing the objectives. Those are the little tube shaped lenses that attach above the stage of your microscope. For ease of use, order them from lowest power (typically 4x) to highest power.
2. The tricky part of this experiment will be collecting your samples. Not everyone is quite happy to be providing samples of their own blood, for each of their own reasons. You want at least 3 samples in order to compare the results. Parents, be sure to assist your young student with this part, as operating the lancet on their own is both not recommended and extremely unsafe. Assist your student with collecting their own blood by using the lancet to prick a finger, then using the dropper from the Elenco slide making kit to transfer it to a slide. Only collect one sample at a time.
3. Immediately mount the slide and prepare for viewing, as blood does not last very long outside of the body (although is a bit more impervious to heat from the light on a microscope due to its naturally warm enrivonment). You do this by putting the drop of blood onto the slide, then holding the coverslip over it at an angle, and dropping it down. Use the tweezers from the Elenco kit to flatten the sample as well as reposition the cover slip as needed.
4. Place the microscope slide onto the stage of the microscope, using the stage clips to hold it in place. Center it as best as possible over the light source, but you may have to adjust it as you magnify to greater values anyway since blood cells are likely to be moving and flowing.
5. Using the lowest power objective, look into the microscope (or onto the screen if you’re using a USB camera). Adjust the focusing knobs (coarse first, fine second) until the image comes into clear, focused view. Capture images as you work so you have information and visuals to use for your science fair project. You aren’t too likely to see much with the lowest power objective, so take this time to recenter the slide onto a part of interest. Then, change to the higher power lens. Refocus as necessary.
6. You should start seeing blood cells, but still without a great amount of detail. Once you make your way up to the highest objective, you will likely start seeing individual cells floating around. What features can you make out about the cell? Are their shapes uniform or different? Are they moving or staying still? What color are they appearing as?
7. After you’ve collected all of the images from each magnification value, collect the next sample from a different individual. If you did the first, perhaps a parent or sibling could provide the next one. Be sure to have your parent (or if you’re a parent, help your student) in safely collecting the sample. Use a new lancet for each person, and clean the dropper out before using it again (just water will remove all blood from the last donor–using soap may leave residue that will kill the new sample).
8. Repeat steps 3-6 for all samples. Once all data is collected, begin comparing the different samples. Do you see anything similar between them? What about differences? What conclusions could you draw from how alike or different they are from person to person? Did you see anything out of the norm from one sample compared to the others? All of these are great discussion questions to present on your science fair project presentation, and will be sure to get you max points with the science fair project judges.
9. Extra credit: What else is there in blood besides red blood cells? Can you see any white blood cells–why or why not? What about the yellow fluid between cells? What is that called, and what could it be used for?
Science Fair Project Idea 3: Tap Water Analysis
Items needed:
- Blank Slides & Cover Slips (Cheap 72pc Set) -or- Thin Petri Dishes
- Elenco Slide Making Kit (Sample tools included like droppers!)
- Compound Light Microscope with USB Camera (M158C-E is ideal and cost effective)
- Tap Water Samples (at least 3 different locations–the more the better)
- Methylene Blue Die/Stain (Optional for extra credit)
1. Setup the microscope according to the instructions that came with it. Usually, this just means plugging it in and installing the objectives. Those are the little tube shaped lenses that attach above the stage of your microscope. For ease of use, order them from lowest power (typically 4x) to highest power.
2. Use the graduated cylinders from the Elenco kit to collect two water samples of differing origin. So don’t fill both up with tap water, for example. A great idea here would be to collect water from your garden hose, from your kitchen sink, and if you have filtered water from a refrigerator or Brita filter, collect that too. This way you have a baseline (garden hose), cleaned water for human consumption (kitchen sink), and filtered water (Brita or refrigerator). You only have two graduated cylinders, so feel free to use collecting vial from the set to collect the last sample.
Special Tip: If you don’t have filtered water, try boiling water, then freezing it in the freezer, then melting it down to use. This will give you sanitized water that will be close.
3. With the samples you now have, you can make multiple samples. Waterborne microscopic organisms do die out over time, especially when exposed to a microscope’s bright light (which generates heat), so being able to make multiple samples will be critical for this learning experience.
Take out a blank slide and a coverslip. Note that they’re made of glass, so handle with care. Using the dropper, place a drop of a sample onto the center of the slide, and then set the cover slip perpendicular to the slide (so that they make a 90 degree angle). Then, allow the coverslip to fall onto the water drop. Apply even pressure to the cover slip with the tweezers to thin the water out a bit–you won’t be able to focus if the water isn’t flat. Dry up any excess water that leaks out from under the coverslip.
4. We only want to make a slide at a time (as dead microorganisms wouldn’t be much fun to watch), which isn’t a problem since we have the USB camera to record with for later review. Take the slide and place it onto the stage of the microscope, centering it as best as possible into the path of light. Rotate the microscope nosepiece (with the objectives) to your low power lens (probably a 4x). Looking into the microscope, try to move the focusing knobs (coarse first, fine second) until the image comes into clear view.
What do you see floating around? Make observations of your findings, and take a few pictures with your USB camera (be sure to save them so you remember what it is–I recommend something like “4x objective hose water”).
5. Continue up in magnification values, refocusing as needed, until you run out of objectives to view with. As you magnify more, you will likely need to recenter your slide. This is because your microorganisms are likely moving–they’re still alive and attempting to stay that way. Be sure to continue capturing pictures for your science fair project as you move up.
What do you notice about the samples as you increase magnification? Are you able to see more of them, or less? Are they greater in detail, or less in detail? These are great points to note in your project when you explain what you’ve done.
6. Once you have completed all objectives, move onto the next sample, and repeat steps 3-6 until you have completed the research section of your science fair project.
7. What did you notice about the difference between the samples you collected? As your water became more purified and filtered, what happened when viewing them under the microscope? Was it easier or harder to find samples with the filtered or tap water, compared to the hose water? Which samples were most similar to each other? Which were least similar? All of these conclusions can be drawn from your data you’ve collected.
8. Extra credit for your science fair project can be earned by taking your research a step further and using dyes to help highlight your microorganisms in greater detail. To do this, you’ll have to have a stain or dye of some kind. Methylene blue is a very common kind, and easily accessible. After dropping the cover slip, place a drop of the stain on the side of the slip on the slide. You want to then take a piece of paper towel and place it on the opposite edge of the cover slip in relation to the drop of stain. This will draw some water out from under the coverslip, and thus draw in the stain to the sample without making a mess. Wipe up any excess.
9. Redo the research from steps 3-6. What did you find this time? Were your samples living or deceased? Were they easier to find, or more difficult? Discuss your findings in a section on your presentation board for your science fair project–I guarantee the more thorough you are, the better your results from the judges and your peers for your science fair project will be!
10. Using your collected images, create a board comparing the three kinds of waters and explaining your findings, as well as your procedure. Remember, scientific method is key here, so be detailed in what you did, what you used, etc.
Good luck with the science fair project judges!
Hopefully some of the information here will help you get started in thinking about great ideas for getting into microbiology or inspection using a microscope for your science fair project. There are a great number of other ideas out there, but these are just a few to get you started.
If you have any questions or run into any trouble with that science fair project, or want to discuss any other ideas you might have, please leave me a comment, question, or concern below, or send me a message. I’m happy to help out!