Electricity & Electronics Project Ideas

"How do you frighten a grasshopper? And what does that have to do with light?" These are a couple of questions you're probably asking yourself after reading the title. Well, The Frightened Grasshopper Solar-Powered Bug is actually a toy grasshopper that vibrates when it is placed in sunlight or near a lightbulb. It stores up the energy from light, and converts it into motion. You will use this fun toy to explore how the brightness of the light affects the motion of the solar-powered insect.   Read more...

What do lamps, computers, televisions, printers, and kitchen appliances all have in common? They all need electricity to work. In order for electricity to provide power to these devices, it has to flow into and out of them. In this electronics science fair project, you will make your own simple circuit tester and use it to study how electricity flows through a lamp.   Read more...

Solar cells are devices that can be used as a source of power when there is light shining on them, but they stop producing energy when they are not in the light. One way to store the solar energy for later use is to use a solar cell to charge something called a capacitor. The capacitor stores the energy as an electric field, which can be tapped into at any time, in or out of light. In this electronics science project, you will use parts of a solar car to experiment with the energy storage capacity of a supercapacitor.   Read more...

This is a straightforward project that shows you how data can be digitized and stored on magnetic recording media. You'll learn how alpha-numeric characters are digitized, and you'll use bar magnets to represent the individual data "bits." You'll also learn about how much information can be stored in a small space (recording density), and how magnetic data can be erased.   Read more...

Electric charges in motion create magnetic fields. You can create an electromagnet with a simple coil of wire and a battery. This project has ideas for exploring how the strength of the electromagnet depends on the size of the coil or the voltage supplied to it.   Read more...

Did you know that you probably used an electric motor today? Yes, that's right. If you put on clothes that were washed in a washing machine, rode in a car, ate food from a fridge, warmed up lunch in a microwave, or played a video game, you used an electric motor! Try this science fair project and you'll learn how to make a simple electric motor by having two magnets "talk" to each other. As they interact, they will alternate between "liking" each other (being pulled together), and "disliking" each other (pushing away from one another). All that pushing and pulling will create some serious spinning, and you will have built an electric motor!   Read more...

You probably know that you can use iron filings to reveal the magnetic field produced by a strong magnet. If you sandwich the iron filings between pieces of waxed paper, you can make a permanent...   Read more...

Maybe somewhere in your home there's a long hallway or a stairway with a light that you can turn on from either end. It's a nice convenience, but did you ever wonder how it's wired up to work that...   Read more...

Here's a science fair project that shows you how to build your own radio receiver! You'll learn the basic circuit elements required for receiving radio signals, and you'll be able to listen to AM radio broadcasts with something you made yourself. A nice feature of this project is that you can make it as easy or as advanced as you want.   Read more...

Everyone is familiar with the idea that electric current passing through devices can heat them up. Most of us have used appliances like electric stoves, hair dryers, and toasters that are made specifically for heating. We've also noticed that things that run on electricity get warm when the current is turned on. Have you ever turned this relationship around and wondered if it is possible to use heat to produce current? Did you ever wonder if it is possible to cool things using electrical current? If so, then look no further! Check out this project to learn about thermoelectricity.   Read more...

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