Science fair projects give children valuable experience using the scientific method – asking questions, developing hypotheses, testing them out and analyzing. Furthermore, these projects build other important STEM skills like teamwork and communication.
Explore ideas spanning biology, chemistry, physics and earth sciences with your child to select a project they will find engaging and challenging.
Balloon-Powered Car
Doing a balloon-powered car race with your children will teach them about energy conservation. This simple physics experiment shows how when you blow up a balloon it stores potential energy that will be released when you let go.
Students should challenge themselves to use different materials for their car body and observe how changing these affect its speed. This activity also provides them with practice of engineering design process.
Geodesic Dome
Geodesic domes were pioneered by Walther Bauersfeld when designing planetariums for Zeiss optical company. Light and strong enough to hold large groups of people quickly, these lightweight domes also have excellent weather resistance and installation times.
R. Buckminster Fuller witnessed these principles at work when designing his geodesic domes. Believing triangles to be stronger than rectangles, his design made use of them extensively.
Solar Oven
Solar ovens harness the sun’s rays to produce heat without using fossil fuels or producing smoke, making this upcycled DIY science experiment simple to set up: simply cut a flap off of a pizza box lid, line it with aluminum foil, and cover with plastic wrap to form a greenhouse-style window.
People worldwide use camp ovens to avoid forest fires when searching for wood to use in cooking, and this project allows students to gain knowledge about absorption and insulation.
Battery
Any school science fair has rules and guidelines for participants, which outline acceptable materials. Projects which require personal opinions or involve living organisms or potentially hazardous chemicals should be avoided as this would reduce competition at the event.
Experiments designed to test consumer product efficacy should also be avoided as these investigations more resemble surveys than scientific investigations required for science fair projects.
Spherification
Spherification is an amazing science experiment that uses liquid food to form drop-size spheres. You can use this technique to craft everything from soda spheres and cocktail orbs, all the way up to creating gazpacho!
Make sure to use a syringe or pipette for precision liquid droplet placement – this is key in creating uniform spheres! Additionally, adequate resting time should be allowed so gels can form.
Hydraulic Elevator
Modern hydraulic elevators are popular among buildings and one of the less costly forms of lift systems, although they only travel up to five stories at slower speeds than their traction equivalents.
Create a model of the mechanism behind hydraulic elevator cars using this simple experiment. Tape a plastic sandwich bag over one end of plastic tubing.
Naked Egg
An egg in corn syrup makes an eye-opening demonstration of osmosis! As the syrup absorbs water from its semi-permeable membrane and distributes it across its surface – creating what we refer to as “naked” eggs!
Take an intriguing question you have about the world and turn it into an engaging science fair project – this idea works well for high schoolers who like physics!
Heat
Students take part in this engaging experiment by comparing the density of various liquids. It’s a fantastic way to teach children about scientific method!
Explore the power of electricity with this straightforward circuit experiment, perfect for science fair projects! Your judges will surely be impressed by its engineering and originality!
Salinity
Have you ever been swimming in the ocean? You probably remember how salty its waters can be due to dissolved sodium and chloride ions; limnologists measure salinity to determine density of ocean water which impacts currents.
Be creative with plants with this high school science fair project from Homeschool Scientist. Discover if different genres of music impact plant growth! Take part now!
Climate Change
Bright Hub Education’s project idea allows children to explore the greenhouse effect and related issues through this interesting science fair project idea for eighth grade scientists. While tinkering may be involved, its effects will make an impressive statement!
This classic experiment shows how heat affects air molecules, making hot air rise. Kids can recreate this experiment to understand why certain objects float while others sink.