Biology Scrapbooks
Final Project
Introduction: Do you keep a scrapbook? Do you have a collection of letters, certificates,
pictures, awards, etc that describe your life? Have you ever thought about how all of
these pieces of paper describe your life? How might someone who has never met you
describe you just by looking at your scrapbook? What do you think it might look like
after you are gone?
A scrapbook can be a very interesting and personal look into the life of anyone.
Unfortunately, however, not everyone keeps a scrapbook. Think about how interesting it
might have been to look into the “scraps” of some famous people such as Abraham
Lincoln, Albert Einstein or even Michael Jordan!
Project: Your assignment for your first quarter project is to peer into the life of a famous
biologist and to create a scrapbook for them. You may choose a biologist from the list
that has been provided or you may choose your own (with my approval).
What the Project Will Look Like
A. A colored cover serving as an introduction to the scientist and what contributions
were made to the life sciences. The cover should be illustrated with a picture or portrait
of the scientist and at least two pictures relating to their work. (5 points)
B. Choose from the following list of scrapbook entries. The number of entries will vary
from one student to the next depending on what is chosen. You must choose enough
entries so that your total points for the entries will equal 60 or more points. You will
only receive a maximum of 60 points even if you have more entries than is required.
You are also required to have a Table of Contents as your first page. (-2 pts if missing).
1. Required - A personal timeline for the scientist. Represent the high points of
your scientist’s personal and professional life (10 dates/events) and include at
least five historical dates that occurred in the person’s life as well. (7 points)
2. A birth announcement and birth certificate that contains the appropriate
information. (5 points)
3. A set of diplomas that the person would have received from high school and
college. The diplomas should look authentic. (5 points)
4. A newspaper article reporting and explaining important events in which this
person was involved. This should be written from the viewpoint of the reporter
and accurately describes an important event or discovery in the life of this
person. The article is at least four paragraphs in length and looks like an article
in a newspaper. Make it look like an actual page from a newspaper. (7 points)
5. A business card for the person. This card should include important
information and look (and feel) authentic. (5 points)
6. A trading card for the person with relevant information. This should resemble
a trading card for a professional athlete but with information about your scientist.
(5 points)
7. A postcard from the person to a fellow scientist. This postcard should display
a picture of a place the person would have visited and a message to their peer. (5
points)
8. A colored flyer that might have been displayed at a university to invite
students to a lecture given by the person. This should look professional and make
sure that it has an image of the scientist on it.
(5 points)
9. A poem that is about the person’s life and accomplishments. The poem
should be at least 15 lines long and not sound like “Roses are red, Violets are
blue.” It needs to be your own creation. (5 points)
10. A collage of images that represents the life and accomplishments of the
biologist. (5 pts)
11. A theme song for the biologist. This would include lyrics (at least 20 lines)
and a CD of you singing the song. (8 pts)
12. A greeting card that your biologist sent to a family member or friend that has
a personal note inside that provides insight into the life of him or her. This needs
to be something that you create. (5 pts)
13. A personalized design of a flag that could fly at this biologists home or place
of work. The flag should represent the important work that they have done. Also,
a brief description of what the flag represents. (3 pts)
14. Design an award named after your biologist that would be given to a person
working in the same area as your biologist. Ex. The Mr. Huff Award that could
be given to a great biology teacher.  The award should not be a certificate.
Possibly a medal or ribbon. (5 pts)
15. A letter written by the person as a youth to a friend revealing information
about the person’s youth and their interests. Should be appropriate for the age
group and show much creativity. Letter should be 1 page and double spaced. (7
points)
16. A letter of recommendation for this person to a college from a high school
teacher. This letter should be accurate and creative. Letter should be
1 page and double spaced. Research what should go into a letter of
recommendation. (8 points)
17. A speech or essay written by this person on the topic: “Advice to Young
People Who Want to Succeed in Science”. This letter should reflect the views of
the scientist. Letter should be 1 page and double spaced. (8 points)
18. An obituary including an epitaph. (This can only be used if your scientist is
deceased.) (5 points)
19. Anything else you might want to include (with approval). (up to 7 points)
C. Another part of your grade will be based on the appearance and organization of your
scrapbook. The entries of your scrapbook that you choose need to be arranged in the
order of the list above. You should take pride in how you put this scrapbook together.
The scrapbook should be something you would be willing to share with others. If you
have a scrapbook entry, this does not guarantee that you will receive all of the points for
that entry. Be creative and make entries look authentic. Quality please! (15 points)
This is not meant to be a project in which the person who spends the most money earns
the most points. It is possible to earn all 80 points without spending any extra money. If
you are not a creative person, this will force you to use parts of your brain you don’t use
often. Trust me, it won’t hurt. Have fun with this project and please don’t procrastinate.
The due date will arrive soon.
Total Points for this Project = 80 points
Presentation and Project Due Thursday, May 30, 2013 and Friday, May 31, 2013
Possible Biologists
Aristotle: ancient Greek philosopher and scientist
Christian Barnard: pioneering heart-transplant surgeon
Elizabeth Blackwell: first woman to graduate from medical school
Elizabeth Britton: botanist who worked in wildflower conservation
Rachael Carson: environmentalist
George Washington Carver: former slave and agriculture pioneer
Jeff Corwin: star of the “Jeff Corwin Experience”, wildlife conservationist
Jacques Cousteau: marine biologist
Francis Crick: worked to discover the model of DNA
George Cuvier: French naturalist and zoologist
Charles Darwin: developed the theory of evolution by natural selection
Theodosius Dobzhansky: evolutionary biologist
Charles Drew: pioneer in the work of blood transfusions
Alexander Fleming: discovered penicillin
Rosalind Franklin: worked to discover the model of DNA
Dian Fossey: worked to save endangered mountain gorillas
Luigi Galvani: Italian physician and physicist
Jane Goodall: studied chimpanzees
Stephen J. Gould: evolutionary biologist
Jack Hannah: wildlife conservationist
Alfred Hershey: studied DNA and viruses
Steve Irwin: “Crocodile Hunter”, wildlife conservationist
Edward Jenner: Physician interested in vaccines
Robert Koch: German physician and microbiologist
Jean Baptiste de Lamarck: one of the first scientists to study how species change over
time
Karl Landsteiner: developer of blood types
Mary Leakey: anthropologist
Robert Leakey: anthropologist
Carolus Linnaeus: developed the modern system of classification
Joseph Lister: developed sterilization process used in medicine
Konrad Lorenz: animal behaviorist
Barbara McClintock: geneticist who studied “jumpin genes”
Gregor Mendel: father of genetics
Louis Pasteur: developed the pasteurization process
Ivan Pavlov: animal behaviorist
Jonas Salk: developer of the first polio vaccine
Matthias Schleiden: co-developer of cell theory
Theodore Schwann: co-developer of cell theory
Nikolas Tinbergen: animal behaviorist
Andreas Vesalius: studied human anatomy
James Watson: worked to discover the model of DNA
Edward O. Wilson: entomologist and naturalist