Most schools are leery of kids doing animal experiments, even insect experiments.
Check your school's rules before considering anything with a hamster or even a spider. No, they didn't pay me to say that. Archie Mcphee is just a really cool store, so I thought I'd give 'em a free ad. All you have to do is get a few kinds of plants and put them under real or artificial light, or in the dark, and you observe them, so, if they're dying or wilting, then that light doesn't work as good as the other ones. You can do it if you want.