Others Like “Shapes with Straws” (top 20 results)
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Have you ever seen a geodesic dome? Geodesic domes are approximately sphere-like (or partially sphere-like) structures made up of interconnected triangles. A famous geodesic dome is Spaceship Earth at EPCOT in Walt Disney World, Florida, but geodesic domes are also commonly found as climbing domes at playgrounds. In this science project, you will get to build a geodesic dome using rolled-up newspapers and tape. How much mass do you think your dome will be able to support? Build one and find out!
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You've seen that a magnet's attractive force can cause a small object (like a paper clip) to "jump" to the magnet. So a magnetic field can act through the air, but what about other materials? Here's an experiment you can do to find out. You'll need a strong bar magnet, a stack of books, a paper clip, some thread and tape. Place the bar magnet underneath the top book in your stack, so that it sticks out. Tie a piece of thread (as long as the stack of books is high) to a paper clip. You…
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Some plants use a lot of water, and some are very drought-tolerant. Drought-tolerant grasses are good for water conservation because they require less water to grow and stay green. How much less water do they need? Which types of grass are drought-tolerant? You can buy different types or brands of grass seed at your nursery that claim to be drought-tolerant. Grow them in a container and then starve for water after they are established. Which brands die out first? You can conduct a similar…
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Could you use a magnetic slime "robot" to retrieve a battery accidentally swallowed by a small child? Scientists think so! Watch this video to learn about magnetic slime that, when driven by external magnetic fields, can squeeze through small spaces and even grasp objects.
Can you make your own magnetic slime robot that can accomplish some of the same tasks demonstrated by the researchers? You can start by adding iron filings to slime to make your own magnetic slime (see this Science…
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An electric current produces a magnetic field. You can take advantage of this fact to make a simple apparatus to test the electrical conductivity of various materials, including both solids and liquids. The detector consists of a coil of wire, with a magnetic compass inside it. You connect one end of the coil to a D-cell battery. The other end of the coil is connected to whatever material you are testing, and the material, in turn, is connected to the other end of the D-cell. In other…
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On December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.2 megathrust earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia unleashed a powerful tsunami that hit the coasts of 14 countries and caused the loss of over 200,000 lives. The devastation that the tsunami left in its wake was heartbreaking, and people across the world united to help the survivors.
Tsunamis are a powerful force of nature that can change the features of a coastline and result in millions of dollars in economic loss, but can…
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Sleeping in class isn't allowed... unless you're a computer! In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests that putting your school's computers to sleep when they're not in use might reduce a school's energy bill significantly. In a study done at the North Thurston public schools in Olympia, Washington, EPA officials worked with the district to cut computer energy and costs by approximately $45,000 annually! How? By implementing a variety of power-management strategies for the…
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In the fairy tale of the three little pigs, the wolf huffed and puffed and blew down the first pig's straw house. But in reality, straw, tied into bales, is a viable building material that, when used properly, makes sturdy and energy-efficient buildings. Straw is a renewable resource that is available all over the world since it is the byproduct of growing grain. In this science fair project, you will test a straw bale covered with stucco to see if it's water resistant, and evaluate if it's…
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Have you ever seen a helicopter flying through the sky? It can be difficult to do a science project with a real helicopter, so in this project we will show you how to make a miniature paper helicopter called a whirlybird. Will your whirlybird be able to stay in the air as you add paper clips as weights? Try this project to find out!
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This project idea is inspired by former NASA engineer Mark Rober's "Squirrel Ninja Obstacle Course":
You do not need to build a full obstacle course as intricate as Mark's (although you certainly can if you want to!) to make this into a fun science project. For example, how far can squirrels jump? You could test this question by building a mobile post and placing it next to a bird feeder. The bird feeder in Figure 1 is mounted on a metal pole. The pole is protected by a squirrel baffle, a…
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