At the middle school level, science fair projects focus on clear technique and presentation rather than originality. Repeating an experiment from the past still works as a potential project. Display boards should show qualitative discoveries using pictures and, when possible, quantitative discoveries using basic charts and graphs that show the relationship between variables. Keep the information on your board organized and include a notebook showing a complete record of your work.
Approach your science fair project using one of three basic approaches. A demonstration project illustrates a scientific principle or concept. A construction project consists of a model or collection of information that points to some conclusion. An investigation uses past scientific knowledge to figure out how or if something else works. At the middle school level, projects dealing with infrared most likely fall into the demonstration or construction approaches.
Infrared light lies outside of the visible light range, between visible light waves and microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum. Even though you cannot see infrared light, you can feel it. Infrared radiation gives off thermal heat, so a science fair project could make use of infrared's thermal properties. Alternatively, thermal imaging allows us to see how much infrared radiation an object emits. Infrared cameras detect differences in temperature and assign false colors to these temperature variances, creating a picture. You could use these pictures to draw conclusions about the world around us.
Repeat Herschel's famous experiment using a glass prism and three alcohol thermometers. Paint the thermometers' bulbs with flat black paint. Place a white sheet of paper inside a cardboard copy paper box. Attach the prism to the edge of the box, adjusting it until it casts a wide spectrum of visible light on the white paper. Check the initial temperature of each thermometer before placing them along the spectrum: one in the blue light, one in the yellow light and one off the visible spectrum just past the red. After five minutes, check the temperatures again. The thermometer off the visible light spectrum, measuring infrared light, should have the highest temperature.
Use infrared images to categorize animals into broad categories. Search the internet for infrared pictures of various animal species, including several samples each of species from the mammal, bird, reptile and amphibian families. Separate the images into two main groups, based on whether each animal appears warmer or cooler in comparison to its surroundings. Cold-blooded animals share similar temperatures with their surroundings, while warm-blooded animals vary from their backgrounds. Paste the images on separate pieces of poster-board, writing down other observations made by looking at the infrared images, such as the temperature differences between bare skin and furred or feathered skin.