Science fair projects provide an engaging and enjoyable way for kids to learn new scientific concepts, making learning fun while sparking their interest and encouraging a lifelong passion for science.
Show your students how objects float differently in fresh and salt water with this straightforward experiment, teaching them about density as they do so.
Magnet Attraction
Magnets attract objects containing iron, such as paperclips and iron filings, or those which have been magnetized (e.g. a paper clip adhered to a magnet). This experiment shows students how magnetic fields can be created and interact with one another in various forms.
This science project employs a bar magnet, iron filings, a toothbrush and paint to produce a permanent record of magnetic fields. Students saturate their toothbrush with paint before flicking it across paper in order to reveal magnetic field patterns through patterns created by paint spreading on its surface.
This classic energy transfer science experiment is sure to fascinate students, measuring how close a magnet must be for it to move and how its strength affects its ability to attract magnetic materials.
Floating Markers
Make your students’ drawings dance in water with this fun experiment that explores the chemistry of dry erase marker ink! This hands-on activity is sure to grab their attention while they investigate why their stick figures and other drawings float in water.
With this straightforward floating marker experiment, children gain insight into density, hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds, oil/water interactions and density differences between two materials. It takes approximately two hours from start to finish including reporting.
Let your students become scientists with this classic bacteria culture experiment! Your students will prepare agar, swab various surfaces, and observe as their bacteria multiply before their very eyes – an excellent way to demonstrate the importance of good hygiene practices and good practices in general. Although messy in terms of scientific activity, this experiment is easy enough and impressive enough for any classroom!
Colorful Sugar Water
Kids enjoy watching chemistry come to life, and this classic experiment serves to demonstrate Boyle’s Law (relation between pressure and volume of gasses) in an engaging and straightforward manner. Plus, it provides a great demonstration of air pressure properties!
Students can explore density using various colored water solutions. By setting up five glasses in an order that starts with just water in one, and gradually adding sugar until one teaspoon per glass adds up to five. The solution with the highest sugar concentration will become denser as time progresses while those containing less density will float on top.
This experiment offers another hands-on engineering challenge and shows kinetic energy at work. It’s an engaging way to demonstrate how magnets attract metal objects that don’t dissolve in water.
Sundials
Long before digital clocks were widely available, sundials were the traditional means of telling time. Simple sundials consist of a flat plate topped by a stick or other object known as the gnomon that casts shadow across it; as time passes during a day this shadow moves across to indicate Local Apparent Time or solar time – which differs from official national clock time due to daylight savings time and other factors.
Kids will love this hands-on experiment that shows how objects float differently in fresh and salt water. An object that sinks contains more material and thus becomes denser than water; conversely, those that float contain less matter and therefore are lighter than water.
Milk Plastic
This kitchen-friendly science experiment shows students how plastic can be created from natural substances. Additionally, it introduces acid and base reactions: when vinegar’s acid attacks the proteins present in milk to form plastic-like substances that can be easily molded.
What an innovative science fair project! This experiment introduces students to light refraction and features some magic.
Be amazed and impressed as your students experience the amazing effects of refraction with this simple experiment, perfect for demonstrating Newton’s First Law of Motion or inertia.
Engage students’ imagination with this simple yet impactful experiment that illustrates how air pressure affects an object’s buoyancy.