Project Proposal
Project Proposal
Project Proposal
A.Summary
data science. This is a topic that has always interested me, as I feel we as a society are striving
further and further away from true objective facts, and more towards polarizing themes. I feel
that in policy making, we need to first understand the scope of the issues facing us, and we can’t
do that without honest and real scientific research; therefore, scientists need to be held
accountable to producing true and accurate data. On the other hand, the scientific data does
nothing when it is not taken into account; therefore, the government also needs to use true and
● Is there a true need for a law regarding scientific accountability, or is trying the
through credible research, and if so, how would that law read?
● How do we increase public awareness of scientific research, and create end the
For my project, I plan on first going to different elementary and middle schools
and hosting a class on the importance of integrity in science, and the way to produce an
experiment with credible results. I will then invite the children to a free science fair, where they
can showcase what they’ve learned, and be able to compete for prizes as well as see a multitude
of booths and fun experiments, such as making and discussing the science of slime, to make sure
we spark an interest for science in the next generation. Throughout the course of the science fair,
there will be presentations explaining the issues that are currently facing the scientific
community, such as lack of funding and respect for research, and I hope to have scientists come
as guest judges who can interact and inspire the competitors. The students will also be given a
pamphlet of information on the issues facing the scientific community, and the ways they can
begin to help, as well as information on how to determine if an experiment has been conducted
correctly. When leaving the fair, I hope to have participants sign a petition asking the
government to listen to scientific research, then reach out to my local representatives with the
petition and ask them to pledge to be informed in their policy making and to look to science
when making laws. I hope to host the fair at a large venue such as the new ODS or anywhere
with an open space and separate rooms. The fair will be organized with the help of my project
sponsor, Ms. Barbara Besal, who will be able to help me network through her connection to
Destination Imagination, as well as provide materials for the experiments and demonstrations at
the fair. I’m also hoping to reach out to a local scientific organization for donations of prizes at
the tournament. The success of my project will be evaluated by the attendance at the fair, the
quality and integrity of the projects at the fair, and the petition signatures and pledges collected.
New Skills-
Enhanced Skills-
● Organizing volunteers
Areas of Growth-
For my project I would need a large area with multiple rooms, potentially a school or recreation
center. I will advertise by going to several local middle schools and talking to the science classes.
I will also reach out to those teachers and see if they would be willing to provide extra credit to
their students, or if the fair could be somehow incorporated into the already existing curriculum.
The fair will be a competition with a prize for the winner, and I’m hoping the competitive
element will help to generate interest for students whose teachers can not or will not offer extra
credit. The audience for my project will be middle school aged children, as they are the future of
our country, as well as their parents who will be attending the fair and hearing the guest
speakers, and the congressmen and women who will be receiving the petition signed at the fair.
D. Project Steps
Preliminary Find and secure a venue, reach out to middle schools and speak to the 5
Steps classes, create a google form to sign up, secure speakers and judges, hours
draft emails and phone calls, decide on the prize, create a social
media presence for the event.
Midway Steps Confirm venue, remind participants of the event, create an agenda for 3
the competition, confirm speakers and judges, secure materials for the hours
demonstrations, secure volunteers to run the fair, create a pamphlet of
information to provide to the participants on the issues facing science.
Later Steps Confirm participants, check all equipment at the event, remind judges 10
and speakers of the event coming up, create a plan for set up, find a hours
camera for event photos, create signs for the event, depending on
participation level - purchase light snacks or create a plan for lunch,
make a sign in sheet and a petition, print certificates for the
competitors and purchase a trophy for the winner, secure a consent to
photograph form, create a survey for participants.
Follow Up Clean up and reset the venue, send thank you notes to judges, 2
speakers, and volunteers, post the event images online, analyze hours
survey responses, prepare for panel.
Total 20
hours
E. Project Documentation
● Detailed Journal
● Copy of speech
F. Project Justification
This project is significant because it will hopefully incite a love for science in the younger
generations, as well as educate them and their parents to the struggles faced in the professional
science world, and to hopefully garner support in government for these issues. Especially in this
environmentally significant area- due to our location near the Chesapeake Bay- it is important to
ensure this community stays educated and up to date on the current environmental science. This
project would be an opportunity for growth, as I have never organized an event before, and it
would require a lot of planning and organization. This would also allow me to grow because of
the nature of the issue I am addressing; although the issue is a bipartisan one, it does have
partisan elements. As I will have no idea of the beliefs and affiliations of the attendees of the
science fair, I would need to structure my project in a way that is persuasive to people from all
G. Project-Paper Connection
My project will focus on raising awareness for the issues discussed in my paper, as well as
attempt to provide a solution for some of the critical issues I’ve identified. One of the questions
my paper will focus on would be what laws can be put in place to stop acts of falsification in the
science world. Through focusing my fair on accurate science, I would hope to teach our future
scientists that the importance lies not in the result, but in the experiment itself, and that if your
experiment doesn’t give you the result you’re hoping for, you have still learned something. My
paper asks the question of what can be done on the governmental level to ensure scientists are
being listened to, and I’m hoping to begin solving that issue as well, through the petition
signatures asking government officials to pledge accountability to science. Finally, one of the
questions in my paper will be how we can begin to end the “fake news” culture that can often
surround scientific research, and through the guest speakers, presentations, and information
given out at the fair, I will hopefully teach the participants and their parents about the importance
of utilizing science to make decisions, and to think critically about information that has been
presented, rather than just dismiss information as real or fake based on pre-existing beliefs.
H. Academic Honesty
I understand that any academic dishonesty by me on any part of the project will result in failure
of the Senior Project and forfeiture of the Legal Studies Seal on my High School diploma.