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.
The Pixel Puzzle: Why Video Game Characters Look Better Today
The Pixel Puzzle: Why Video Game Characters Look Better Today
| Difficulty |
|
| Time Required |
Very Short (≤ 1 day) |
| Prerequisites |
None |
| Material Availability |
Readily available |
| Cost |
Very Low (under $20) |
| Safety |
No issues |
When you picture video games, you probably picture realistic figures, a lot of color, and a lot of detail, right? Those descriptions do not really describe video games from the early 1980's. So why do video games today look better than video games from the 80's? One major change between then and now is the number of
pixels,
or dots on the screen, used to represent video game objects. When Nintendo® first introduced the Super Mario Bros game…
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The Swimming Secrets of Duck Feet
The Swimming Secrets of Duck Feet
| Difficulty |
|
| Time Required |
Very Short (≤ 1 day) |
| Prerequisites |
None |
| Material Availability |
Readily available |
| Cost |
Average ($50 - $100) |
| Safety |
Adult supervision required for swim tests. |
Do you wish that you had duck feet? Aside from being a fun Dr. Seuss story, there is a lot you can learn about hydrodynamics by looking at the feet of birds. How are the feet of birds that swim unique? Find out in this experiment.
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What Color Are the Leaves Really Turning?
What Color Are the Leaves Really Turning?
| Difficulty |
|
| Time Required |
Very Short (≤ 1 day) |
| Prerequisites |
None |
| Material Availability |
Readily available |
| Cost |
Very Low (under $20) |
| Safety |
No issues |
Everyone loves the beautiful colors of fall, but where do they come from and how does the change in colors happen? In this project, you will uncover the hidden colors of fall by separating plant pigments with paper chromatography. What colors will you see?
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Which Animals Have Genome Projects?
Which Animals Have Genome Projects?
| Difficulty |
|
| Time Required |
Very Short (≤ 1 day) |
| Prerequisites |
None |
| Material Availability |
Readily available |
| Cost |
Very Low (under $20) |
| Safety |
No issues |
All animals have a genome, but do they all have genome projects? Find out which animals are currently having their genomes sequenced and how much we know already. Whose genomes are already finished? Whose genomes are just getting started? Find out by doing some simple bioinformatics data digging!
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Who Has the Biggest Genome?
Who Has the Biggest Genome?
| Difficulty |
|
| Time Required |
Very Short (≤ 1 day) |
| Prerequisites |
None |
| Material Availability |
Readily available |
| Cost |
Very Low (under $20) |
| Safety |
No issues |
Humans are complex creatures, but do we have the biggest genome? All living things, from humans to worms to bacteria have genomes. In this experiment you will compare the genome sizes of different organisms to find out who has the smallest and the largest genomes. Where will we fit in?
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