End of Year Fun with Famous Scientists

Do you need an engaging end of year activity that will motivate your students to squeeze in a little more learning before the summer break? The Famous Scientist Cereal Box Project combines research, design, organisation, and presentation skills and is ideally suited for 7th to 9th grade students. My students love this assignment which gives everyone a chance to do well with a little effort and a lot of creativity.

I kick off the project with a group discussion about famous scientists. Who do they know and what do they know about them (besides Albert Einstein!)? Who would they like to learn more about and what kind of cereal should be named after them? I give the students a list of scientists to choose from, but allow them to select a scientist not on the list with my approval.

After selecting a famous scientist, students must redesign a cereal box so that it describes the famous person’s life history and contributions to the sciences. Each panel of the box must include specific items worth a set number of points. The students must research some of the items, such as biographical information, interesting facts, and relevance of the scientist’s contributions. The fun part is that students get to use their imagination for the other items, such as the cereal name and slogan, an activity or game related to the scientist, and a small prize that goes inside the box. To conclude the project, teachers may have the students present their finished cereal boxes to the entire class.