An annual science fair provides students with an excellent way to satisfy their curiosity and demonstrate their research, experimentation and conclusions in front of professional scientists.
8th grade science fair projects often entail prescribed experiments – for instance testing how long batteries last or comparing laundry detergents’ ability to remove stains – although this may make for boring projects at fair. Instead, make your science fair projects truly interesting and creative by selecting experiments with no clear definition or direction from science fair organizers!
Rube Goldberg Machine
The Rube Goldberg Machine features a series of complex yet exciting and entertaining chain reactions that accomplish an everyday task. It’s a great way to demonstrate to students that any object with movement possesses kinetic energy which can be transferred from one object to the next.
Challenge students to use household objects to construct a physical Rube Goldberg machine capable of accomplishing one of three goals – either popping a balloon, disabling an alarm clock or making a pin drop – in an interactive challenge designed for use at school. They may choose among three possible options for their goal completion: popping balloons, switching alarms off or making pin drops drop.
Are your students working together and identifying six simple machines they should include in their design, preferably for self-sufficiency? Have them raid the toy chest or use Dad’s toolbox as materials sources.
UV Beads
These UV sensitive beads react with ultraviolet rays from the sun even on cloudy days, changing from pale white to vivid colors when exposed. Once protected from direct sunlight they return back to white – an excellent way of showing that UV radiation exists everywhere.
UV Beads can help students understand the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation on skin. Furthermore, they’re useful for exploring how sunlight passes through different materials and materials’ ability to block or transmit UV waves.
Students can test different sunscreens or observe how a specific material changes color when exposed to UV rays, providing them with an opportunity for inquiry-based experiments that align with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Includes 2 ounces of beads in various colors.
Optical Illusions
Optic illusions are an engaging way to learn how the eyes and brain process visual stimuli. Many of these brain-bending tricks have gone viral, making them perfect science fair topics.
These objects provide an interesting way to investigate how our perception changes when exposed to different environments. For instance, when standing among basketball players a person may appear taller due to constant stimulation from red-sensing cones in their retina.
Use this project as an opportunity to test the claims made in laundry detergent commercials, such as: does air temperature impact how long soap bubbles last or exploring water’s effect on plant growth.
Starch
Starch is the primary component in food thickeners such as gravy and pudding. Additionally, starch can also be found as the basis of textile warp sizing agents, body powder manufacture (e.g. talcum powder) production and oil exploration as an additive to drilling fluid.
Students can gain an understanding of starch by conducting an easy chemistry experiment using iodine and Benedict’s test or Fehling’s solution. They can investigate granule morphology of different crop starches as well as compare biodegradability.
Blend physics and engineering together for an engaging project to demonstrate Newton’s law of gravity or study how fertilizer runoff affects water quality with this environmental science experiment.
Hand-Warmer
Students interested in how things operate will find this project captivating, plus it provides an ideal way to demonstrate physics skills!
Establish how peppermint candy impacts reaction time by timing how long it takes one hand versus the other to break a paperclip with it. This experiment also helps students appreciate the significance of balancing forces.
Children can develop their inner chemist with this straightforward experiment involving baking soda and vinegar reactions, while learning more about separating water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules. It’s an engaging activity with limitless applications!
Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria
As children enter 8th grade, they’re ready to delve deeper into scientific methods. Furthermore, they should become more autonomous with their projects so they can select topics which interest them.
Build a Newton’s Cradle to demonstrate energy transfer and momentum or conduct an invisible ink science experiment with your children. They’ll love learning how to extract DNA from onions (or strawberries).
Exploring the effects of pollution on water quality can also be an interesting activity for students. They can test and document how different pollutants impact fish in their aquariums – teaching them the value of protecting our planet in the process!