Materials Science Project Ideas


Materials That Can Make a Difference

Materials science is a fascinating area of research that is often at the cutting edge of science and engineering. It involves both developing new materials and improving on existing ones, and has important applications both for improving daily life and for advancing other fields of research.

A few examples of materials science at work include scientists who study semiconductors are working on ways to improve solar cells-making them more efficient, longer-lasting and less expensive-with the potential for providing an alternative source for electricity. In the field of bioengineering, researchers are working on biocompatible materials for many applications to treat injury or disease such as improving prosthetic joints and limbs or providing scaffold material to regenerate tissue using the body's own cells. Materials scientists have also developed composite materials for construction that conserve wood while providing greater strength.

If these materials science topics sound interesting to you, then you should check out the Project Ideas below:

  • Testing the stiffness, strength, and other properties of materials such as wood, metal, and wire
  • Analyzing and comparing different kinds of cleaning or filtering products (for instance, the most effective antibacterial solution)
  • Testing the flammability of different textiles, such as fabrics or construction materials
  • Investigating viscosity or lubricating properties of fluids


Project Ideas     Difficulty:    1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10   
    Easy (for beginners) Hard  


 
 

What is a colloid? If you have made Oobleck out of corn starch and water, then you know that a colloid is a mixture that acts like a solid and a liquid at the same time! What is the critical factor to making a colloidal material? Will different sources of starch change the recipe? Working as a toy designer sounds like the coolest job ever, but you may be surprised how much brain power it takes. In this project you can design an entry to the Sally Ride TOYchallenge that teaches, demonstrates, or tests a scientific concept. If you love to hit the half pipe with your snowboard or skateboard, then you have tested the strength and durability of laminates. Laminates are sandwiches of different materials that are glued together in layers to give strength and flexibility to an object. In this experiment, you can test if laminating wood can make it stronger and able to support a heavier load. How much weight can it take before it breaks? Why do different types of fruits come packaged in different ways? In this project, you will experiment with different ways of packaging fruit to see if it has an effect on the freshness of the fruit. Will a different kind of packaging allow the fruit to stay fresh longer? You have seen it on You TubeTM and David Letterman - the exploding Coke® and Mentos® experiment? But what is it that makes the reaction happen? In this experiment you will see if tiny dimples called nucleation sites have anything to do with it. What do the radio, TV, radio controlled cars, and cell phones all have in common? They all use invisible waves to transmit information. Find out which materials block radio waves, and which materials allow radio waves to pass through by doing this experiment. Chances are, you have several materials around your house made of gelatinized materials. Gels are used in all kinds of products and materials: pudding, diapers, insoles, packaging, ice cream, toothpaste, and many more. In this project, find out how gels are made and how they can be adjusted from firm to soft by changing the ingredients. Here's a practical engineering challenge: you need to build an enclosure for your dogs, using material that they can't chew through. It's going to be a lot of work to build, so you want to do it right. What material should you choose for the fencing? This project uses the scientific method to evaluate materials. Ever try to tear a telephone book in half? Even though you can easily rip one or a few pages to shreds, the entire phone book has strength in numbers and holds together. This project is an introduction to measuring and comparing the strength of materials. Does spaghetti get extra strength if you bundle it together, or does strength simply increase proportionally with the number of strands? If you're interested in materials testing, get cracking! How effective are different sunscreen products at blocking harmful UV radiation from sunlight? This project shows you how to use a UV detector to find out.
Is an I-beam as strong as a solid beam of the same size? What if you include weight in the comparison: which beam has the greater strength-to-weight ratio? Would an I-beam be stronger than a solid rectangular beam of the same weight? What about other structural shapes (e.g., T-beams, U-beams)? In this project you can find out by setting up a test stand, putting on your safety goggles and measuring how much stress these building components can handle before they snap. Science Fair Project image
For many kids, a day at the beach would not be complete without building a sandcastle. Have you ever wondered how it is that you can pack sand into a mold for a sandcastle? Do some kinds of sand pack better than others? This project will show you how to measure the porosity of sand: how much air space there is in between the sand grains. Maybe you can use your knowledge from this project to help you make bigger and better projects with sand. Arches have been used for structural engineering since ancient times. This experiment tests the strength of a naturally occurring arch shape: the shell of an egg. How much weight do you think an eggshell can support? You've probably noticed that the price of gasoline has been going up and up lately. Heating oil will probably cost more this winter than last winter, too. Using good insulation material is one way to conserve energy and save money. What insulation materials work better than others? The insides of a car engine get very hot when the engine is running. Motor oil lubricates the moving parts, to keep the engine operating smoothly. What happens to motor oil as the engine temperature goes up? Here's a project for a budding architect or structural engineer. Can you make a strong, lightweight tower using only uncooked spaghetti and white glue? In this project, you'll learn about materials testing and apply what you learn to building and testing structures that are both strong and light. If you like music and musical instruments, here is a project that might resonate with you! This is a fun experiment to investigate materials that could be used to build acoustic musical instruments. You can use a music box mechanism and a sound level meter to see which materials make the best soundboards. If you'd rate yourself high on the bacteriophobia scale, just keep on scrolling down to the next project. Bacteria are all around us, and normally our body's defenses keep us blissfully unaware of them. If you don't mind finding out where they're lurking in your house, then you might find this project interesting. Does your hair go crazy when the weather turns damp? Did you know that strands of hair can relax and lengthen when the humidity increases and then contract again when the humidity decreases? In fact, hair strands can be used as the basis for a hygrometer, a device which measures the humidity level in the air. Can a human hair hygrometer also detect changes in hair structure caused by chemical lightening? This project shows you how to find out.


Additional Project Ideas

Note: The following project ideas are abbreviated, without notes to start your background research or a procedure for how to do the experiment. You can identify abbreviated project ideas by the asterisk at the end of the title. If you want a project idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk.

Do you ever go camping with your family and roast hot dogs and marshmallows over a campfire? If you want your campfire to burn long into the evening, what is the best wood to use? Do research on the necessary conditions/materials to sustain a fire and on the properties of different types of wood. Which properties do you think will be most... The different species of wood used in construction offer a variety of challenges based on density, porosity, oils in the wood, flexibility, elasticity, etc. The intended use, e.g., structural or cosmetic, presents different challenges as well. The glue must be compatible with the wood, the use, and the climate, so many experiments are possible.... Here's a project idea for all of you bakers out there. What happens if you try your favorite muffin recipe with different types of flour (e.g., white, whole wheat, rye, soy, etc.)? Think of ways you can measure the results. How would you measure the density of a muffin? A kitchen scale would definitely be useful for this project, both for... Does adhesive tape hang tight at different temperatures? Measure the adhesive strength of tape at both low and high temperatures. To raise the temperature, we suggest using a blow dryer at both low and high heat settings. To lower the temperature, use an ice pack (try to keep condensation from forming on the tape and confounding the results). For... If you're interested in analyzing how things break, check out the Science Buddies project Fractography: The Way Things Break. If you like to fish and you'd rather not be telling the story of "the one that got away," then this is a project for you. What combination of properties makes for the best fishing line? Here are some suggestions for getting started on your background research into fishing line properties: knot strength, abrasion strength, shock strength,... If you like to bake, this might be an interesting project for you. When you're following a recipe, do you ever wonder why certain ingredients keep showing up time after time (e.g., baking powder in quick breads)? Do you notice that certain ingredients tend to occur in a particular ratio to one another (e.g., amount of shortening and sugar, or... Did you know that you can make a simple hygrometer (a device for measuring the relative humidity of the air) with hair? This type of hygrometer is easy to build (for instructions, see: http://www.fi.edu/weather/todo/hygrometer.html). Does the type of hair used in the hygrometer affect... What are the best materials to use for blocking out unwanted noise from the environment? You can build a test box (or test frame) around an audio speaker. Use a sound level meter to measure the speaker output. Use different materials to cover the walls of your test box (or frame), and see which materials do the best job at blocking the sound. For... Plastics are made of polymers, chemical structures containing many repeated subunits. How does the polymer type of a plastic affect the biodegradability of the plastic? Do research on how plastic is made and what types of polymers are used for making different plastics. Can you learn to make your own plastic? What materials can you use for...

Resources

  • The Stress, Strain and Strength pages introduce the concepts of stress and strain, and discuss how they are used in materials testing. By studying how things break, we can get insights in how to increase the strength and durability of materials, buildings and products. This is a great introduction to show you how you can include materials testing ideas in your science fair project. Stress, Strain and Strength

Sources for Additional Project Ideas

 

Copyright © 2002-2008 Kenneth Lafferty Hess Family Charitable Foundation. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of material from this website without written permission is strictly prohibited.
Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Fair Use.

Science Buddies gratefully acknowledges its Presenting Sponsor


Science Fair Project Home      Our Sponsors      About Us      Volunteer      Donate      Contact Us      Online Store      Privacy Policy      Image Credits      Site Map

Science Fair Project Ideas      Science Fair Project Guide      Ask an Expert      Teacher Resources      Science Fair Competitions