Students and parents often feel overwhelmed by their busy lives; thus making science fair projects seem like unnecessary additional assignments. Yet doing one will provide children with valuable lessons on planning and carrying out experiments over an extended period.
Kids will enjoy testing their engineering skills with this unique take on the classic catapult experiment and will also gain knowledge about gravity and forces.
Archimedes’ Screw
Archimedes’ Screw (also referred to as a water screw or pump) was one of the most efficient simple machines ever devised, used initially on his ship for King Syracuse and still widely employed today by wastewater treatment plants worldwide for lifting water out.
Wrap a piece of tubing tightly around one end of a pipe in a spiral fashion and observe as water moves upward from beneath it through the screw into a bowl below it.
Digestive System
An engaging human body project that helps children gain an understanding of digestion. It demonstrates how food travels from mouth to esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and finally exits as stool.
This lesson on cow digestion would make an excellent addition to any elementary school science fair.
Baking Soda Balloon
This acid-base science experiment is an easy, quick way to explore chemical reactions. Simply fill a bottle with vinegar and sprinkle some baking soda onto a balloon before fitting the balloon over the opening of your bottle and shaking to watch its expansion!
Help your students set up their hypothesis and experiment, but then give them control of it all – they will learn more by searching independently for answers themselves.
Ball Run
Students can explore engineering concepts by designing and building their own ball run in this exciting science experiment.
Put an end to an age-old debate. Does orange juice or soda contain more vitamin C? This fun chemistry demonstration helps children discover the answer.
Explore how various lengths affect the period of a pendulum with this exciting physics experiment! It is an effective way to teach students about speed calculations.
Catapult
Catapults are remarkable engineering machines used to propel projectiles. They range from simple slingshot versions to intricate trebuchets and work by storing potential energy which transforms into kinetic energy when released upon.
To build a simple catapult, stack five plain craft sticks on top of one another and secure with rubber bands at both ends. Cut notches into the ends of two large craft or Popsicle sticks to complete your catapult.
Density Demo
Examine the effects of density on buoyancy with this visually striking experiment. Carefully layer liquids like honey, dish soap, rubbing alcohol and water in a glass before watching them float over time.
Helping 5th grade students develop science fair projects is an invaluable experience that teaches them to conduct measurable experiments and evaluate the results. Help your pupils discover meaningful research topics they care deeply about, then execute these successfully.
Lightning Storm
Kids will love this simple yet engaging science experiment that shows how thunderstorms form. A thunderstorm occurs when warm air rises along a cold front and collides with its cold surface layer, producing lightning strikes and thunderstorms.
Static electricity occurs when positive and negative charges combine, creating an attractant field between them that causes your hair to stand on end or makes balloons stick to walls. Lightning also strikes from one cloud to another or directly to earth and can generate static electricity charges that create static discharge.
Glow Sticks
Science fair projects provide students with an invaluable opportunity to hone their research and problem-solving abilities. Under expert mentorship, 5th grade science projects can delve into various core concepts.
See your student’s excitement grow when she notices how her glow stick’s stored energy changes brightness depending on temperature changes – this experiment also serves to teach chemical reactions!
Quicksand
Action hero characters who get trapped in quicksand typically need someone on their team to help get them out, which this experiment illustrates. This science experiment shows how to safely maneuver through this potentially lethal substance.
Students should experiment with moving their hands through this mixture of cornstarch and water that mimics quicksand. They’ll find that when their hand moves rapidly it sinks slightly but when moved slowly it floats freely – this experiment also helps explain Archimedes’ principle!
Marshmallow Jump
Students can test the effects of gravity on objects using this fun science experiment. As part of it, they’ll also gain knowledge about density and Boyle’s Law!
Find out the effects of erosion on hills covered with grass versus those not with this fun science experiment that also teaches surface tension!
Encourage kids to put their engineering skills to the test with this hands-on project! They build a bridge that simulates structural stability while learning about safe structure design and construction techniques.