HISTORY FAIR PROCESS PAPER
Why we chose this topic:
We chose this topic because in the 6th grade, we researched Alexander Fleming and his discovery of the miracle drug, penicillin. Since we also had to do a history project two years ago, we decided to repeat the same topic. The theme for our last project was, “Turning Points in History.” The discovery of penicillin ties into the new theme this year, which is “Leadership and Legacy”. We really liked this topic and we were interested in the research. Also, we were fascinated by the use of penicillin in World War II.
How we conducted our research:
We conducted our research from online resources. We used many primary sources and trusted websites for reliable information. We found pictures of Dr. Fleming’s personal journal entries of his work, and this was where we gathered most of the content for our project. We used Google as our search engine and avoided sites, such as Wikipedia, that cannot be relied on. Together we worked diligently to find any information to help make our website attractive.
Why we chose to do a website and how we created it:
We chose to do a website to share Alexander Fleming’s legacy so that our findings would be more widespread. Being on the internet, more people have access to the information and can find it at their convenience. We began by creating our website at www.weebly.com. Weebly allows you to customize a webpage of your choice with your desired information and images. First, we needed to name our site and we decided to title it http://gotflem.weebly.com . This name has humor and is attractive to viewers. We created our homepage with a simple photo of Alexander Fleming and background information. Then we added pages based on his leadership and legacy. Each page has their own visuals and information pertaining to their topic to make it easy for the viewer to find what they are looking for.
How our project relates to the theme of “Leadership and Legacy”:
Alexander Fleming was a medicinal leader during the mid-1900s. This was because of his major unearthing of penicillin. Penicillin acted as a miracle drug during World War II by fighting bacteria, which could cause infection. Dr. Fleming displayed leadership in the medical field by discovering and developing one of the first effective drugs to ward off and cure people of contamination. This had not yet been done in earlier years; therefore, he started the on-going struggle to constantly develop new and improved ways of curing and healing illnesses. Because of his leadership, he was awarded a Nobel Prize. We still see Alexander Fleming’s legacy today in new discoveries with penicillin, such as side effects and new drugs in which contain penicillin. If it hadn’t been for Flemings finding of the drug in the first place, we wouldn’t be able to take his discovery further.