Many science fair projects involve testing products, such as how long batteries last or whether laundry detergent removes stains. Students should pursue more exploratory experiments that pose novel questions and produce innovative results.
STEM challenges for kids can be extremely engaging. Here is one such experiment using balloon cars to measure how far different designs travel and Skittles for teaching them about refraction.
1. Growing Crystals
Explore how to grow crystals using household ingredients with this fun science experiment that’s simple enough for preschoolers, kindergarteners and grade 1 students to complete successfully.
Learn kids about resources with this fun Earth Day activity that shows what can happen when we compete for non-renewable energy sources. Click through Amazon links for all the supplies necessary for this project.
2. Pipe Cleaner Names
Students will love exploring this highly concentrated solution and will feel like true scientists when shaping pipe cleaners to form their names! Plus, this experiment helps children understand the difference between liquids and solids.
Avoid research projects that only involve reading and writing; science fairs don’t appreciate this type of project. Instead, encourage your students to perform investigations on topics of their choosing.
3. Soil Erosion
Nothing gets kids interested in science like hands-on experiments. Fourth graders can engage with these activities and gain knowledge in areas such as physics, biology, engineering and chemistry.
Soil erosion happens when water and wind transport particles of dirt away from their original locations, eventually polluting drinking water sources and grassy waterways with sediment. Plants provide vital nutrients and stability for soil; when their presence is removed, land becomes fragile and requires increased care to remain habitable.
4. Strings of Beads
Bead strings can help students develop an understanding of Newton’s Law of Inertia. Carefully place the beads into a jar to avoid tangling them up together before giving just a slight tug to get things moving.
Explore osmosis’ effects with this classic experiment designed for curious children who enjoy playing around. Perfect for creative tinkerers!
5. Marbles in a Cup
This simple experiment helps children explore gravity and force. They’ll also become familiar with using scientific method for comparison, prediction, observation, and measurement.
Explore how different materials insulate or conduct heat more effectively with this engaging physical science project! Students will observe temperature shifts when placing equal quantities of water into metal, plastic, and Styrofoam cups containing different temperatures of insulation (or conductance).
6. Newton’s Second Law
Teach students the fundamentals of Newton’s laws through this engaging hands-on experiment. Students will use a simple ramp and different toy cars with differing weights to observe how force, acceleration and mass interact.
This project follows the standard that states the speed of an object is directly proportional to its net force and inversely proportional to its mass, as well as helping students understand the law of inertia.
7. Edible DNA
An interactive DNA model created with candy provides students with a fun way to understand its double helix structure. Color code marshmallows to represent different base pairs and connect them using long strands of licorice in order to form the double helix shape of this biological substance.
Let your students experience being scientists with this chemistry experiment! Watch their chemical reaction unfold before their very eyes and taste its delicious results!
8. Boyle’s Law
Kids will discover Boyle’s Law and Archimedes’ Principle using simple materials in this exciting experiment, while practicing graphing skills and beginning to form hypotheses.
This science fair project may seem like magic, but it’s really science! Children observe color mixing and density while changing the design of their balloon car to see which makes it travel farther.
9. Ocean Currents
Ocean currents – both global and local ones such as those that pull rubber ducks onto beaches – are always moving, and this TED-Ed lesson investigates what causes their flow as well as how it alters Earth’s climate.
Oobleck provides an engaging non-Newtonian fluid with liquid and solid qualities, providing children with a fascinating way to explore states of matter while teaching them about friction and air pressure. This science experiment can teach children important lessons.
10. Glow Sticks
Students can use this hands-on experiment to explore the chemical reaction that causes glow sticks to produce light (chemiluminescence). It makes an engaging classroom activity for Halloween or any time when items glow-in-the-dark are present.
To conduct this experiment, students should bend three glow sticks and place them rapidly into water of various temperatures. Once done, they should record their observations on a double-sided worksheet.