Your science fair project must be remarkable to win that $1,000 grand prize or entrance into your ideal college, but where should you start?
Engineering is an engaging STEM challenge that demands hands-on application of multiple forms of science. Check out these inspiring experiments, and see if any inspire you to design a contraption with unique engineering features!
Newton’s Cradle
Students can create Newton’s Cradle from materials found at home or school to demonstrate conservation of momentum and energy. This project requires no electronics, making it an excellent addition to a high school science fair project selection list.
An impressive demonstration of energy transfer between objects is through swinging spheres in a chain reaction. When each ball on this device is moved or pulled back, it hits another one and sparks off an ever-expanding chain reaction.
Eighth graders can explore magnetism with this Rube Goldberg machine and create their own diffraction patterns using CDs and DVDs in this experiment.
Sticky Note Cradle
Students interested in engineering can build a unique contraption that fulfills a simple task as part of a high school science fair project to demonstrate engineering principles. Additionally, creating such contraptions requires problem-solving abilities to come up with inventive solutions for solving everyday problems.
This simple physics experiment can introduce children to friction without needing special equipment. All it requires are two stacks of sticky notes that have been interleaved or overlapped and attempts made at pulling them apart.
Contrary to traditional baking soda volcanoes which often lead students to lose interest in an experiment, this hands-on experiment requires only minimal materials and materials can even be tailored specifically for testing the effects of different paper types on kinetic friction.
Ball Rebounding
Students interested in exploring the physics behind ball’s bounciness can use it as the foundation for a science fair project. Students will conduct an experiment that tests various factors that impact how high a ball bounces, including brand, age and surface area of its bounce.
This experiment also explores energy loss when using a bouncing ball. Although an ideal elastic ball operating in a vacuum would return to its initial height after colliding with surfaces, real-world balls lose some of their initial kinetic energy when striking and returning from surfaces due to physical contact that warms both objects a little, thus diminishing energy from moving objects.
If you plan to implement this project idea, be sure to get help dropping the ball from an equal height every time and recording its results on a chart for accurate data collection. This will ensure your findings.
Muon Cloud Chamber
This project requires a room that can be dimly lit, a deli cup, felt, Plasticine or clay to secure its position, dry ice, isopropyl alcohol and dry ice – as the latter two substances are potentially flammable; adults should assist children when handling dry ice to reduce potential injuries caused by handling it alone.
Particles passing through a cloud chamber ionize vapor molecules, leaving behind trails of droplets or clouds as they pass. This visualisation technique is used to study the paths and characteristics of charged particles; its tracks consist primarily of muons – similar to electrons but 200 times heavier – enabling researchers to examine their paths and characteristics.
Kinetic Friction
Students conduct experiments on different surfaces to study the coefficient of kinetic friction. Students begin by placing weight in a basket and dropping it, measuring how long it takes until it slides along an end mark on a chart. They repeat this procedure using various amounts of weight before recording their findings.
Explain that smooth surfaces have lower frictional forces. Engineers trained in frictional analysis develop brake systems to keep vehicles from skidding when drivers hit the brakes suddenly.
Encourage students to use this concept to brainstorm potential science fair project ideas. Selecting something they find intriguing will allow them to present it more passionately when presenting it, as well as keep them engaged during experimentation process. A captivating project idea may also make a statement when applied for college admissions.