Science projects inspire curiosity, develop scientific thinking skills and foster a lifelong love of discovery in students. Students use them to apply theoretical knowledge in real world scenarios while building essential observation, data analysis and presentation skills.
Engage kids in heat transfer using Newton’s Cradle, or explore renewable energy with solar-powered oven experiments. Let your student choose their project this year!
1. Tracking Animals
If your student brings home a science fair assignment with an extensive rubric, now could be the time for more hands-on science experiments. As opposed to prescribed investigations (like baking a cake with instructions), these projects enable students to follow their interests while practicing scientific method.
Tracking animal footprints on a sandy beach or dirt expanse helps kids understand how different creatures leave distinct tracks in the sand. This project can also help determine whether certain creatures move more rapidly by studying their feet shapes.
An experiment involving a lightbulb can teach children about electricity, while exploring surface tension and soaps is an age-appropriate introduction to chemistry. Other fun physics and food-related projects for kids include Newton’s cradle, density towers, growing salt crystals and Newton’s cradle-type structures or paper cup structures that support weight or teleidoscopes (a kind of kaleidoscope without an end) can provide challenging yet rewarding physics experiments for them to try their hands at engineering projects or Newton’s Cradle (invention of Newton’s Cradle).
2. Nitrogen Fixing
As part of an earth science project that emphasizes biodiversity, students can compare pea plants with and without nitrogen-fixing bacteria. They could even experiment with playing different genres of music to see how this impacts plant growth.
Students can gain an understanding of how acid rain impacts natural and manmade environments by conducting this science experiment that investigates water quality across various areas. Students can compare samples taken near busy roads, city parks and rural farms to understand how their surroundings influence pH levels.
Encourage students to showcase their engineering prowess with this project that shows them how a Rube Goldberg machine operates. It’s an effective way to teach basic mechanical principles as well as basic physics concepts.
Students can explore the chemical process behind spherification with this engaging 8th grade science project that requires only household materials and can test how temperature impacts surface tension.
3. Music Affects Plant Growth
At an 8th grade science fair project, students should adopt a more mature approach and show a deeper knowledge of scientific principles. Furthermore, they must conduct more complex experiments using more complex materials, and perform in-depth analyses on them.
Plants do not possess ears like human do, yet research shows they can still be affected by sound waves. Researchers have observed that plants tend to grow towards music they like while moving away from that they dislike; moreover, some genres of music appear to increase plant growth while others can damage it.
Give students an opportunity to explore energy and physics with this Newton’s Cradle experiment or encourage their thinking about environmental engineering with this simple water filtration project using household items like sand, gravel and charcoal – they’ll learn how to clean dirty water while developing their passion for sustainability in the process!
4. Fingerprinting
Many 8th grade science fair experiments focus on product testing, such as how long batteries last or the effectiveness of detergents at removing stains from fabrics. While such topics may be interesting to students, students should strive to develop experiments of their own which teach scientific concepts.
One way of doing this is through food culture experiments. Take for instance a Tupperware container and put bread or banana waste from your kitchen into each compartment, adding water for each and watching what happens! This project introduces students to microbiology.
Other engaging physics and engineering experiments involve building a teleidoscope – an optical mirror which allows objects to be seen without physically touching it – or creating a solar oven which teaches students about energy transference and solar power.