An annual science fair provides students with an excellent platform to showcase their scientific knowledge. While it may appear daunting at first, science fairs provide invaluable opportunities for future scientists, engineers and doctors.
Get students excited about physics with this simple paper experiment that shows the effects of gravity on objects. Kids can also experiment like Linnaeus himself with this plant taxonomy demonstration!
Hand Model
Students can assemble a robot hand or an articulated model hand to learn about how the bones and muscles of their bodies coordinate to perform tasks. This hands-on experiment also serves as a great way to explore balance.
Make slime with different properties ranging from magnetic to glow-in-the-dark for an entertaining chemistry experiment! This activity can easily be tailored for 7th grade, and even used as a science fair project by altering its ingredients and design.
Swab various items around your house or school to see which germs have taken hold, making this an easy chemistry experiment that can even become part of a science fair project by adding additional variables or items to each swab.
Bridge Model
Engineers design bridges to withstand different forces, like those exerted during an earthquake or when crossing rivers. This science fair project gives students an opportunity to investigate various kinds of bridges and learn what makes them strong.
Example 1: Experimenters can determine whether a bridge with triangle-shaped supports can withstand more weight than one built with square ones, in this experiment which also shows them how geometry helps enhance structural strength as it shows how triangles distribute force more effectively than other shapes.
Sports Drink Electrolyte Experiment
Many athletes choose a specific sports drink to maintain electrolyte balance before, during, or after strenuous exercise. This experiment explores whether different drinks contain similar levels of electrolytes – and if not, which ingredients might explain any discrepancies.
Multimeters are multi-function electronic devices capable of measuring voltage, resistance and current. To use one for this experiment, set it to read direct current readings.
Connect one lead of the voltmeter to a wire and the other lead to a nail. Ions in solution will close the circuit, producing current that directly correlates to electrolyte concentration.
Roller Coaster Model
Students participating in this physics project use foam pipe insulation and marbles to explore energy conversions. Students discover that gravitational potential energy of a roller coaster car is converted to kinetic energy as it moves through various points on its track.
Students also discover that in order for a car to make it through a loop without collapsing, its speed must be sufficient at its highest point in order for it to carry enough momentum over it without falling. This realization highlights the necessity of testing any roller coaster design prior to its installation for public riding purposes.
Encourage your students to get up close and personal with plants through this simple experiment. By playing music for their plants, they can see whether their plant responds in various ways such as growing taller or drooping more.
Cellular Mitosis Models
What do intestines, yeast in bread dough and developing frogs have in common? Mitosis – the process by which cells divide to create two genetically identical cells – is essential to life on Earth. This activity provides instruction on mitosis while giving students a chance to build a model using textured paper that illustrates prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase of cell division and meiosis (cell reproduction that results in gametes).
Combine physics and engineering with this eighth grade science experiment that assesses the strength of various materials. Or try this fascinating chemistry project which illustrates how specific colors affect memory.
Charcoal Water Filtration Experiment
Students can gain valuable insights into water filtration with this straightforward science fair project. Employing only plastic bottles, sand, and charcoal in this experiment, students will discover how filtration helps remove impurities and colored substances from solutions.
Activated charcoal (often known as activated carbon) is an inexpensive and widely available material with excellent absorption properties that can remove unwanted colors and odours from mixtures, while also helping remove organic and mineral impurities from water sources.
Bacteria are present everywhere–on our hands, cell phones and school supplies alike. Eighth graders can conduct experiments using everyday objects to detect where bacteria reside.
Texting Glossary
Your child may need a science fair project on anything from cell mitosis or squirrel prevention at bird feeders, to how to keep squirrels away. A strong experiment should address an interesting question. If required by her school to present its findings publicly, be sure that your child can explain her results to an audience clearly and concisely.
Helping your child prepare for her presentation requires understanding the appropriate vocabulary – something which may prove challenging if parents are unfamiliar with modern text abbreviations systems.
Example of usage: “Love You!,” and “By The Way.” Using all capital letters is considered shouting.