Science fair projects should start by asking an engaging question that resonates with the student. Think about their hobbies and interests and how they link to science – for instance if your child enjoys playing video games they could investigate how coding works behind the scenes or explore whether screen time impact focus.
Build a Light Bulb
Use this engaging physics and engineering experiment to teach your students all about electricity! This simple project provides them with insight into surface tension as well as voltage generation.
Chemical hand warmers or the dramatic reactions between acid-base pairs can be created with this simple chemistry experiment, demonstrating their dramatic reaction. 8th graders who enjoy gardening can test whether hydroponically grown plants outshone soil-grown ones in terms of plant growth potential.
Help students explore heat conduction with this exciting carousel project! Just ensure the appropriate thickness of graphite for proper functioning of the circuit.
Build a Geodesic Dome
This spherical structure, featuring hexagons and pentagons joined together by triangles, has earned recognition for its strength, portability and adaptability – from countercultural movements to modern festivals.
Explore the physics behind structures with this 8th grade science fair project! This hands-on demonstration introduces students to surface tension and its effect on liquid adhesion.
Build a Seismograph
Seismographs are devices used to record earth vibrations. Think about drawing a straight line with your arm held high while moving back and forth; that is how a seismograph works!
The most basic seismometer consists of a weight suspended from a frame over a base. When an earthquake strikes, its relative motion is recorded on a rotating drum with a pen attached that then records this movement onto paper sheets using squiggly lines on paper recordings.
Build a Catapult
Put on display your maker grit with this engineering-based project! This project provides an excellent opportunity to teach children about mechanical energy and physical principles.
Explain how elastic potential energy stored in a bent stick when bent is converted to kinetic energy when released and propels a cotton ball forward upon release. Have students adjust the position of their fulcrums to see which catapult flings the pompom further distance.
Build a Paper Cup Structure
Add an engineering component to your 8th grade science fair project with this engaging experiment! Try stacking cups different ways and seeing how high you can build them up.
Give your students a challenge: develop a device capable of supporting two cups of water for five minutes without tipping over. This timed project puts their creative engineering abilities through rigorous tests.
Students can utilize oxidation to make a chemical hand warmer in this engaging science project, or compare sports drink electrolyte content with water or orange juice for comparison purposes.
Build a Hand Warmer
Judges consider many factors when judging science fair projects, including creativity and memorability. Here’s a project you can use to keep your hands warm while demonstrating an exothermic chemical reaction – learn how to build one now!
Tinning the ends of wires and connectors makes soldering simpler, as does soldering the thermistor to one of the connectors. After soldering has taken place, cover this soldered connection with some heat shrink tubing to avoid short circuits.
Build a Sports Drink Electrolyte Experiment
Explore chemistry by using water to test various liquids for their electrolyte content – this 8th grade science fair project will captivate students!
Gatorade and other sports drinks contain electrolytes such as salts, sugars and citric acid that make them suitable electrolytes for this DIY battery experiment.
This engineering and physics experiment showcases centrifugal force. To add greater complexity, adjust variables like speed and cup shape for greater realism.
Build a Spring Scale
Spring balances enable students to explore Hooke’s law by measuring gravity’s force on objects and their weights. Although this project requires patience and physics, its results speak for themselves.
Explore whether plants seek sunlight with this fun 8th grade science fair experiment! It also serves to teach students about biology and math; using a maze and plant, this experiment tests an intriguing hypothesis.
Build an Optical Illusion
Kids can learn how the brain interprets light rays that strike our eyes when we look at pictures and objects, creating an optical illusion to show off at science fairs! Make an eye-catching display to demonstrate your knowledge!
NASA JPL provides this engaging video series that helps students learn to observe and question the world around them, then use these observations as inspiration for science fair projects.
Build a Bernoulli Demo
If your students are drawn to science, try this project that shows the effects of air pressure. Based on Bernoulli’s principle stating that fast moving air has less pressure than slow-moving air, they will learn about Bernoulli’s principle while experiencing its implications first-hand!
Bernoulli’s principle can easily be demonstrated using this straightforward experiment. Hold a piece of paper in your hands and blow across it – the paper should move toward the stream of air with lower pressure as its pressure gradually decreases.