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Zoology Science Fair Project

Artificial Light and Hamster Sleep

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Artificial Light and Hamster Sleep | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Can a bright light trick a hamster into changing its sleep schedule? Hamsters normally stay active at night and sleep during the day. This project tests whether artificial light can flip that pattern. You set up two hamsters with different lighting. One gets a normal day-night cycle. The other gets artificial light during its usual dark period. You record each hamster on video for 24 hours across three trials. You rate each hamster's activity on a scale from one to five. The results show whether artificial light changed when the hamster was awake.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that artificial light can alter an animal's sleep habit.

Method & Materials

You will measure the activity of two hamsters over two nights, using artificial light.
You will need a video camera, food, water, and two hamsters.

Results

The results of this experiment showed that artificial light can indeed alter an animal's sleep habit. The activity of the hamsters was rated on a scale from one to five, and the artificial light did confuse them.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it shows how artificial light can affect an animal's sleeping habits, which can be applied to other animals as well.

Also Consider

Variations to consider include testing different animals, or testing the effects of different types of artificial light.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

Related video

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