High school science fair projects give students the chance to explore various scientific disciplines while building critical thinking skills. These ten projects will encourage students to pursue their interests and find solutions to real-world problems.
When selecting a project topic, take into account what draws your interest about the subject and consider events happening near you that could provide inspiration for an experiment. It’s also vital that you conduct background research to understand why something works as it does.
Hydroponics
High school science fair projects provide students with an invaluable opportunity to delve deeper into a topic they find intriguing while using their creativity and engineering design expertise to construct contraptions that illustrate a scientific concept.
Hydroponics is a crop system that forgoes soil altogether in favor of using nutrient-rich water as its medium for growing plants. Hydroponics offers several advantages over its soil counterpart, including lower water consumption rates and no need for herbicides or pesticides.
To conduct a basic hydroponics experiment, start with plant pots featuring holes at the bottom and fill them with nutrient solution. Aerate this water using an air pump to inject fresh oxygen into it. For optimal results, select plants which either self-pollinate or require wind pollination for pollination.
Robotics
Robotics involves the design, construction and use of devices with movable frames or bodies that work by employing actuators powered either by compressed air (pneumatic) or oil (hydraulic).
Some robots are pre-programmed to perform specific functions and may also be operated through remote human control, known as teleoperation.
Educational and entertainment robots often take the shape of people, animals or objects that children love playing with; these toys provide children with valuable education in robotics, programming and problem-solving skills.
Engineering
Everyday we encounter engineering in its various forms – car safety features, advanced sound systems, accurate medical tests and even ways to recycle plastic are just a few examples of its impact. Students can gain an appreciation of engineering through high school science fair projects that focus on engineering.
Set your imagination racing by discovering how temperature, surface area and pressure affect reaction rates in this exciting chemistry experiment. Take this experience one step further by creating your own peppermint hard candy while practising calculating moles, molecules and formula weights!
Ask your teachers for advice about your project idea. They likely have extensive experience in science fairs and can give valuable advice regarding questions, variables and measurements for your experiment.
Optical Illusions
Optic illusions are entertaining, yet can also reveal much about how the human brain and visual system operate. Additionally, optical illusions can serve to illustrate concepts in physics, biology, psychology and even chemistry.
Necker cube and Moire effect optical illusions are two classic examples, but you can also experiment with more mind-boggling optical illusions like expanding image and scintillating grid illusion. All of these experiments use simple materials to test how your eyes and brain process information.
Engineering is an interesting science, and building contraptions to fulfill specific tasks provides teens an ideal way to express their creativity while exploring various scientific principles. This project makes an excellent option for high schoolers who enjoy creating and engineering.
Physics
Integrating a physics experiment into a science fair project is an exciting way to explore an intriguing scientific principle, yet requires significant amounts of research in order to fully comprehend it and then create a display which shows its application in real life.
As there are plenty of engaging physics experiments available to students to help develop the necessary skills for creating successful high school science fair projects, students may benefit from engaging physics experiments to build these essential capabilities. They could learn about the effects of different liquids on plant hydration or how to reignite candle flames without physical contact.
Students can experiment with the laws of motion to craft their own lethal trap that captures criminals in the act. Students may also test how much water a balsa wood bridge can hold or create models to measure wind speed and power.