6 Brainiest Costumes to Boost Your Study This Halloween

By Julia Dunn on October 9, 2015

This article is brought to you by Kaplan, the leader in test prep for over 90 standardized tests, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.

Halloween is in four short weeks, and we all know that that means costume preparations are underway!

If you’re one of the folks who has no idea what to dress up as this year, consider a costume made of “smarticle particles” to complement all the hard studying you’ve done this term.

Here are some ideas for an academic yet fun and creative costume for Halloween 2015 that might earn you some extra course credit (or at least a big bowl of satisfaction!).

The Doppler effect

“I don’t care if anybody gets it. I’m going as the Doppler effect.”

Ever since The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper attended Penny’s Halloween costume party dressed as the Doppler effect, this costume has been a winner among physicists and science enthusiasts.

The Doppler effect is essentially the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to its source–Sheldon translates this into a costume via dressing head to toe in black clothes with white vertical stripes.

You can make your own Doppler effect costume this Halloween by wearing a black shirt and pants and painting white stripes on with fabric paint. Stay true to this physics-inspired costume, and defend against anyone who says you’re a zebra!

Plato/Play-Doh

Bronze statue of Plato
Image Via Pixabay

This year, double as a classic kid’s modeling substance and a philosopher all in one! Dress in old, Grecian-looking, drapey clothes (think toga style) and remake the Play-Doh logo in felt around your stomach. Add a fake beard and wig, and make extra effort to appear pensive at all times this October 31.

Maybe someone will accompany you dressed as Socrates, and you two can discuss the ethics of trick or treating.

Charles Darwin

You don’t have to have ridden on the HMS Beagle to channel the evolutionary scientist in you!

Dress up as Darwin if you want to step into the shoes of one of the most influential thinkers and biologists of scientific history. You’ll probably need a fake beard and a snazzy suit of sorts, and maybe a stuffed bird commemorating Darwin’s research with finches on the Galapagos Islands.

If you’re really committed to recreating this brilliant mind, carry around a copy of Principles of Geology, the book which scientist Charles Lyell gave to Darwin before his voyage across the Atlantic. Darwin read this book frequently during his journey (when he wasn’t worried about severe seasickness, of course).

Static Cling

Dressing up as static cling (the tendency for light objects to stick or cling to other objects via static electricity) for Halloween is an easy 5-minute costume if you’re in a pinch and you’ve got some extra dryer sheets lying around. Attach random socks and dryer sheets to a basic outfit underneath, and you’re set!

Pumpkin Pi (Pie)

Pi symbol
Image Via Pixabay.com

This is one of the easiest costumes to make, it’s seasonally relevant, and it has math in it! What more could you ask of your Halloween costume?

To be a pumpkin pi, all you need is an orange shirt and some black felt, as well as some basics like scissors and a needle and thread. You won’t even need to sew at all if you buy adhesive-backed black felt. Cut out the symbol for pi, stick it onto the front of your orange shirt, and you’re set for Halloween with a costume that is both punny and yummy!

You could even wear this costume later in the year on March 14 (math nerds will understand).

Designer Genes

DNA Molecule
Image Via Pixabay.com

Bet you never thought that studying for molecular biology class would give you an in-gene-eous Halloween costume!

Dress up as designer genes by recreating double helix structures that wrap across a pair of jeans using felt. If you’ve already got a pair of jeans you are willing to adorn in nucleotides and all their glory, creating this costume can easily cost under $10; you’ll only need to find some thick ribbon, a few sheets of felt, and some adhesive or sewing supplies to attach the strips onto your jeans.

To create the helix, intertwine two lengths of ribbon to act as the sides of the DNA strand (or in scientific language, the sugar-phosphate backbone) and pull the two ribbons apart to create a line of circular openings.

To create the bases on either side of the backbone, use the felt to create thin rectangular strips symbolizing the pairing of Adenine with Thymine and Cytosine with Guanine. Sew or glue these strips so that the ends connect with the edge of the ribbon (you should have a ladder-like structure), and you’ve got yourself some designer genes–sans the designer price!

You’ll embody the definition of a pun in your designer genes this Halloween. Plus, you’ll never forget the structure of DNA molecules during midterms week in biology.

No matter which Halloween costume you choose, base it in academia–you’ll look sharp, and the costume will be so unforgettable that you’ll never blank out on that topic during exams. The more you study, the more rewarding a costume you can come up with that relates to your field of study. Happy Halloween (in three weeks) and happy studying!

Learn more about Kaplan’s test prep options and start building the confidence you need for Test Day.

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