Parents play an important role in fostering enthusiasm for science in their children.
Doing science projects together at home can make a wonderful weekend or "day off"
activity. The following list of projects contains projects from our library of science
Project Ideas
that meet the following criteria:
- Use readily available materials.
- Can be completed in a few hours.
To find other projects you and your student would enjoy, browse the
complete library or use the
Topic Selection Wizard to see a list of recommendations that match up to your interests.
A Change in the Winds: Studying Bernoulli's Principle
A Change in the Winds: Studying Bernoulli's Principle
| Difficulty |
|
| Time Required |
Very Short (≤ 1 day) |
| Prerequisites |
None |
| Material Availability |
Readily available |
| Cost |
Very Low (under $20) |
| Safety |
No issues |
Did you know that you can actually make objects come together by blowing air between them? Find out how wind changes air pressure to bring to objects together in this easy and fun science fair project!
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Don't You Fret! Standing Waves on a Guitar
Don't You Fret! Standing Waves on a Guitar
| Difficulty |
|
| Time Required |
Very Short (≤ 1 day) |
| Prerequisites |
To do this project, you'll need a guitar (or other stringed instrument). You'll need to know enough about playing the instrument to produce clear harmonics by picking (or plucking) the string while lightly touching it in just the right place. |
| Material Availability |
Readily available |
| Cost |
Average ($50 - $100) |
| Safety |
No issues |
In this project, you'll investigate the physics of standing waves on guitar strings. You'll learn about the different
modes
(i.e., patterns) of vibration that can be produced on a string, and you'll figure out how to produce the various modes by lightly touching the string at just the right place while you pick the string. This technique is called playing
harmonics
on the string. By the way, we chose a guitar for this project, but you can do…
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Guitar Fundamentals: Wavelength, Frequency, & Speed
Guitar Fundamentals: Wavelength, Frequency, & Speed
| Difficulty |
|
| Time Required |
Very Short (≤ 1 day) |
| Prerequisites |
To do this project, you will need a guitar (or other stringed instrument). You'll need to know enough about playing the instrument to produce clear, ringing tones by picking (or plucking) the string while changing its effective length by fretting (or fingering) it. |
| Material Availability |
Readily available |
| Cost |
Average ($50 - $100) |
| Safety |
No issues |
This is a rockin' project for guitarists with an interest in the physics behind the music. Have you ever wondered why the pitch of the note changes when you fret the string? You can find out for yourself with this project on the fundamental physics of stringed instruments.
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How to Make a Guitar Sing
How to Make a Guitar Sing
| Difficulty |
|
| Time Required |
Very Short (≤ 1 day) |
| Prerequisites |
To do this project, you will need a properly tuned acoustic guitar (or other acoustic stringed instrument). You'll need to know enough about playing the instrument to produce clear, ringing tones by picking (or plucking) the string while changing its effective length by fretting (or fingering) it. |
| Material Availability |
Readily available |
| Cost |
Average ($50 - $100) |
| Safety |
No issues |
This is a great project for a musician who is interested in the physics of stringed instruments. If you've every played an acoustic guitar, you may have noticed that picking a single string can make one or more of the other (unpicked) strings vibrate. When this happens, it's called
sympathetic
vibration. What intervals lead to the strongest sympathetic vibrations? Find out for yourself with this project.
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How to Make a Piano Sing
How to Make a Piano Sing
| Difficulty |
|
| Time Required |
Very Short (≤ 1 day) |
| Prerequisites |
To do this project, you'll need a piano which is in tune. You'll also need to know enough about the piano to find notes by their letter names. |
| Material Availability |
Readily available |
| Cost |
Very Low (under $20) |
| Safety |
No issues |
The renowned pianist Vladimir Horowitz once said, "The most important thing is to transform the piano from a percussive instrument into a singing instrument." Check out this project to learn about sympathetic vibrations, one way to make piano strings sing.
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