Student Resources
Brainstorming / Choosing a Topic / ResearchChoosing a Topic
After you have your team and your coach, it's time to choose a topic. You're going to be spending a lot of time and effort on your project, so it's important to come up with an original idea that gets everyone on the team excited. You might pick something that you've always wondered about ("Why doesn't X do this?") or that has always interested you ("How could I build a better X?"). As a team, brainstorm some ideas and see if there are any ideas or areas of study that stand out.
You should also talk with your coach or teacher to see what he or she recommends. Your coach might have some great ideas based on scientific or news trends. He or she might also know the strengths of your team members and be able to tell you what resources or equipment are available at school.
Your choice of topic might also be influenced by thinking about who your mentors could be. If someone on your team has a family friend who works in a laboratory that makes flavorings for potato chips, for example, it would be smart to pick a topic about flavorings so you could draw on that person's expertise. Think about adults you know who might be willing to help.
