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Arg! Science fair ideas?
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 144862" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>I've got a few ideas for you.</p><p></p><p>Aspies etc tend to be very interested in behaviour of others - animals, or people.</p><p></p><p>An animal behaviour (ethology) study could be as simple as observing a family pet, drawing (or photographing) its most common body positions (such as lying down, sitting, alert, paying attention etc). You have to be very careful to not draw conclusions such as, "the dog is listening to what I say" - you would instead say, "the dog is in a sitting position (defined by illustration K), ears facing upright and forwards, eyes making eye contact with me as I speak."</p><p>It sounds on the one hand simplistic, on the other hand too challenging. But a detailed study of one creature can be scientifically valid.</p><p></p><p>Or, perhaps easier and equally challenging scientifically - map receptive fields on a person's body. It's an easy one for a kid to actually do, but requires a bit of scientific thinking.</p><p>Theory behind it - we 'feel' because of nerve endings in the skin. Some parts of our bodies (lips, fingers, eyelids) need to feel in more detail, while for other parts (centre of the back; soles of feet) it's less important. The body doesn't waste resources, so we don't have fine detail capability where it's not generally needed.</p><p>One sensory cell does not feed into one neuron (taking the message to the brain). Often multiple sensory cells (touch cells) feel into the same neuroon. This means that when the message gets to the brain, you can't tell exactly WHICH sensory cell has been triggered, of all the ones that feed into the same neuron (or nerve cell, transmitting the signal).</p><p>The area covered by the collection of sense cells that feed into a single neuron, is called a RECEPTIVE FIELD. In your back, for example, receptive fields can be whole centimetres across. On your lips, receptive fields are in millimetres or tenths of millimetres.</p><p></p><p>To do the experiment, you need a felt pen or biro, and a pair of dividers (those things that look like what you draw a circle with, only it's got a sharp point on both arms). And a ruler. Measuring off the ruler you set the dividers to a very small distance and touch an area on a blindfolded person. The person has to say whether they feel one point, or two. You check the area gently and thoroughly, and keep moving the dividers apart until the subject feels two points. The distance at which the subject changes from feeling one point to feeling two points, is the receptive field size in that part of their body. You then mark this on a chart of the human body.</p><p>Repeat, for other areas. Compare places such as hands, feet, face, back, chest.</p><p></p><p>Yu can also use as a resource, the "sensory homunculus". It's a figure made to show what we would look like if we changed our body shape so the existing receptive fields were all the same size.</p><p></p><p>I think it might tickle difficult child's humour to be able to do a project where he can stick sharp things in people. But he has to be gentle or his subjects won't cooperate.</p><p></p><p>I'll keep thinking, But my money's on behaviour and how people (or animals) react.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 144862, member: 1991"] I've got a few ideas for you. Aspies etc tend to be very interested in behaviour of others - animals, or people. An animal behaviour (ethology) study could be as simple as observing a family pet, drawing (or photographing) its most common body positions (such as lying down, sitting, alert, paying attention etc). You have to be very careful to not draw conclusions such as, "the dog is listening to what I say" - you would instead say, "the dog is in a sitting position (defined by illustration K), ears facing upright and forwards, eyes making eye contact with me as I speak." It sounds on the one hand simplistic, on the other hand too challenging. But a detailed study of one creature can be scientifically valid. Or, perhaps easier and equally challenging scientifically - map receptive fields on a person's body. It's an easy one for a kid to actually do, but requires a bit of scientific thinking. Theory behind it - we 'feel' because of nerve endings in the skin. Some parts of our bodies (lips, fingers, eyelids) need to feel in more detail, while for other parts (centre of the back; soles of feet) it's less important. The body doesn't waste resources, so we don't have fine detail capability where it's not generally needed. One sensory cell does not feed into one neuron (taking the message to the brain). Often multiple sensory cells (touch cells) feel into the same neuroon. This means that when the message gets to the brain, you can't tell exactly WHICH sensory cell has been triggered, of all the ones that feed into the same neuron (or nerve cell, transmitting the signal). The area covered by the collection of sense cells that feed into a single neuron, is called a RECEPTIVE FIELD. In your back, for example, receptive fields can be whole centimetres across. On your lips, receptive fields are in millimetres or tenths of millimetres. To do the experiment, you need a felt pen or biro, and a pair of dividers (those things that look like what you draw a circle with, only it's got a sharp point on both arms). And a ruler. Measuring off the ruler you set the dividers to a very small distance and touch an area on a blindfolded person. The person has to say whether they feel one point, or two. You check the area gently and thoroughly, and keep moving the dividers apart until the subject feels two points. The distance at which the subject changes from feeling one point to feeling two points, is the receptive field size in that part of their body. You then mark this on a chart of the human body. Repeat, for other areas. Compare places such as hands, feet, face, back, chest. Yu can also use as a resource, the "sensory homunculus". It's a figure made to show what we would look like if we changed our body shape so the existing receptive fields were all the same size. I think it might tickle difficult child's humour to be able to do a project where he can stick sharp things in people. But he has to be gentle or his subjects won't cooperate. I'll keep thinking, But my money's on behaviour and how people (or animals) react. Marg [/QUOTE]
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