"I Wonder...": Reconnecting with Our Natural Curiosity

Every day, all day long, we ask ourselves questions about the world. Most of us are not conscious that we do so, but those questions can be very important.

These questions are clues to the things that we wonder most about the world and that is exactly where a STEM research project should begin – with your own natural curiosity. “I Wonder…” is a process that can help you reconnect with that curiosity and lead you to a unique research project topic that you are passionate about investigating.

Deanna Cusick and Lauren Allgood, two of the Society's Advocates, try out an "I Wonder" experiment by smelling air bottled at local stores.

"I Wonder" Challenge

If you’re looking for a project idea or just want to tap into your curiosity, we recommend starting with an “I Wonder” journal.

"I Wonder" Introduction

Learn all about the “I Wonder” process, which can help you turn your questions about the world into a science research project that you could enter into a science fair.

Our Wonder Wall

Looking for more things to wonder about? Check out our Wonder Wall, which is filled with photos of many wonder-ful things!

Blogs About Students Who Wonder

From Africa to the US, one student is indeed driven by Wonder

Threats to Alabama’s Mobile Bay Jubilee: One student takes a closer look

‘Solving problems and helping people’: Middle schoolers use science to save the world

Articles that Make us Wonder

Science News and Science News for Students are our award-winning publications that cover current advances across all STEM disciplines. We have gathered a collection of articles specifically on things that made us wonder to further shed light on this topic and provide inspiration for student research projects.

Why you’re spotting more wildlife during COVID-19

There aren’t more animals, we’re just paying better attention to them

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Here’s how the periodic table gets new elements

From discovery to confirmation and naming, the path is rarely simple

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How popcorn got its pop

There are special movements behind these delicious edible explosions

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Why are cicadas such clumsy fliers?

Chemical analysis of the insects’ wings by a teen and his dad now offers clues

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Is the coronavirus mutating? Yes. But here’s why you don’t need to panic

Lab experiments would help determine whether mutations change how the virus infects cells

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Why the knuckleball takes such a knucklehead path

The new explanation traces to a ‘drag crisis’

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Why Rembrandt and da Vinci may have painted themselves with skewed eyes

Scientists are still debating if the cause was an eye disorder or one strongly dominant eye

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Why are bees vanishing?

Scientists find a combination of threats may explain declining honeybee populations

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New books explore why dogs and humans have such a special bond

Dog Is Love and Our Dogs, Ourselves look at the relationship we have with our canine companions

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Explainer: How brief can hibernation be?

For a half-century, scientists have debated whether animals can hibernate for as little as a day

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Why tumbleweeds may be more science fiction than Old West

Salsola plants form tangled balls of dead foliage to spread their seeds

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Explainer: How CRISPR works

This technique lets scientists edit DNA in plants and animals

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The Deepwater Horizon oil spill spread much farther than once thought

Simulations show the extent of toxic oil pollution in the Gulf of Mexico from the 2010 disaster

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How to protect your home from disasters amplified by climate change

Individuals and communities can prepare for flooding, fires and drought

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What happens to animals in a hurricane?

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